Coffee Boy
by gaaleex
Summary: AU. When you're a powerful businessman, you shouldn't have time for love – especially not with the attractive young man who spilt coffee over your expensive suit. Naruto's trying to make it in the business world and unexpectedly receives help from the man who annoys him the most: Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Powers. SasuNaru. One-sided NaruHina. ShikaTema, ChoIno, KanKiba.
1. Chapter One - Routine

**Coffee Boy**

**by gaaleex**

**Summary: **_AU. When you're a powerful businessman, you shouldn't have time for love – especially not with the attractive young man who spilt coffee over your expensive suit. Naruto's trying to make it in the business world and unexpectedly receives help from the man who annoys him the most: Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Powers. SasuNaru. One-sided NaruHina. ShikaTema, ChoIno, KanKiba._

**Chapter One: Routine**

Uzumaki Naruto groaned as he heard his alarm beeping incessantly. His eyes felt like lead and his mouth tasted dry. He really shouldn't have stayed out so late last night with work in the morning, but it was his friend Sakura's birthday so all in all it was her fault this had happened. With one lurching movement, he turned off his alarm and sat up in a daze. A wave of dizziness washed over him and for a second he thought he was going to hurl. Thankfully, the moment passed. Or perhaps that wasn't such a good thing after all – he didn't really want to go to work today.

Naruto worked in a large building for businessmen holding meetings and various office workers. He wasn't sure what he did exactly, other than getting people coffee and delivering messages. Sakura had gotten him the job as she worked as the secretary in the main entrance, so he spent quite a lot of his time talking to her. Today they were sure to both be hungover. He stumbled into the shower and shuddered as the initially cold water enveloped his body.

"Morning, Naruto," he heard as he eventually made it to the fridge dressed in orange trousers and a black woolly jumper. He made himself some toast and a glass of orange juice, and then sank into the chair next to his roommate.

"Morning, Hinata," he said with an easy smile. "No work today?"

Hyuuga Hinata had been his roommate for over two years now, ever since he put up an advert in the paper for someone to share this two bedroom apartment with him. There was something Naruto liked about the kind, shy woman. She was always lovely to him, making him dinner, asking him about his day, even offering to iron some of his shirts (a skill Naruto sadly lacked, and a favour he gratefully accepted). Naruto couldn't understand how after all this time together she was still so nervous around him, blushing whenever he spoke to her and twiddling her thumbs together. She didn't seem to have that many friends – occasionally two men back from her school days came over, Kiba and Shino, but when he inquired as to whether one of them was her boyfriend she looked like he'd just told her she'd been evicted. He accepted she was probably always going to be like this, but did try every now and then to bring her out of her shell. She worked as a teacher for nursery school children, so surely she had to have some backbone somewhere.

"I have a late start this morning." She answered, turning red and not quite meeting Naruto's eyes. She was in her fluffy white dressing gown, and her hair tumbled like a dark waterfall around her shoulders. Her own eyes were a wondrous lavender colour, as though she had contacts in. She was, Naruto eyed appreciatively on occasion, curvy in all the right places and a very beautiful woman. Not that Hinata herself seemed to realise this.

Naruto took a sip of his orange juice. "Sounds good to me. Why aren't you having a lie-in? I'm pretty dead right now."

"Oh, um," Hinata mumbled, suddenly embarrassed, "I am used to getting up at this time. That's all. I should go get dressed."

"Okay, wait a second though." Naruto raised an eyebrow at his friend. "You should really come out with us all sometime. We're going out on Friday, nothing special, not a birthday like last night or anything. Just to a bar and then maybe a club, even if we are getting too old for clubs now." He laughed. "But seriously, come along. You can invite Kiba and Shino so you don't feel awkward. They can crash here if they live far away."

Hinata looked surprised. She had started to shake her head when Naruto began talking, but now she wanted to pull herself together. She had to stop being so embarrassed around him! Did he really want her to hang out with all of his friends? What could this mean? "Okay, I'll come." She told him, meekly.

"I won't take no for an answer this time!" Naruto replied. "You always come up with some excuse or whatnot for not coming, but I've given you like five days' notice here if you count today. In fact, I'm going to call Sakura right now and tell her – you're coming?" He blinked, registering what she had just said.

Hinata giggled. "Yes, I am. Though I will invite Kiba and Shino, if that's okay. Your friends are very…intimidating."

"No they aren't!" Naruto defended them automatically, even though what Hinata was saying was kind of the truth. He had a strange bunch of friends, but he was fiercely loyal to them. He counted Hinata as a friend though, so he wanted her to meet them. His best friends were definitely Sakura and Sai; though he got the impression Hinata didn't like Sakura much, because whenever he mentioned her a strange look crossed her face. Still, they would learn to get along. He was growing very excited for this otherwise uneventful meet-up this Friday, but first he had to get through five days of work. He could guarantee that nothing exciting was going to happen at all today.

In fact, he was already off to a bad start. He checked his watch and saw the time was 8:32am. "Bollocks," he muttered, "the way traffic is in the mornings I'll be late. Do you want the rest of my toast, Hinata?" He asked.

She seemed positively delighted at this prospect, and even offered to wash his dishes for him. "Thanks, I'd appreciate it. I can do them when I get back though." When she insisted, he shrugged and decided to let her do them. After all, why look a gift horse in the mouth, right? He downed the last of his juice and was out the door, yelling goodbye moments before he ran down the hall to the lift.

_Please don't be raining,_ he thought, realising his umbrella was sitting by the door waiting for him. As the lift doors opened and he was in the lobby, he peered through the windows and saw, to his dismay, that indeed specks of rain were falling to the ground. _Man, can I catch a break here or what?_ He scowled as he darted outside for the bus, scrambling in his pockets for the right change. At least the bus would most likely be here soon.

Eight minutes later, he was sat on the bus next to an overweight, coughing man who didn't feel the need to cover up his germs. Today certainly wasn't shaping up to be a good day, despite the initial great start he had with Hinata agreeing to go out. He was already wondering if he could set her up with anyone, but the large majority of his friends already had relationships. Perhaps he could have a word with Kiba or Shino about her – he was pretty sure they didn't have girlfriends.

Why didn't Naruto have a girlfriend? He wondered this as he sat there in the traffic, kissing goodbye to being early for work for once. It wasn't like he was interested in anyone – well, okay, perhaps he wasn't. But was that such an issue? He was clearly waiting for the right girl to come along. He knew that when she did he would know straight away. The feeling would hit him like lightning.

He was so invested in the dissection of his love life he almost missed his stop, breathing a word of thanks to the woman with the pram up front who had pressed the button and was taking a while getting off. With a cheery wave to the bus driver, who barely looked at him, Naruto stepped off the bus and craned his head upwards to view the entire scale of the building in front of him. If there was another thing he was thankful for, it was that the bus stopped right outside his work. It was a building that dominated the area, radiating a presence and power that made Naruto feel insignificant and stupid. He was never going to be like the hotshot businessmen who worked on the upper floors. Hell, he was never going to be like the average everyday office workers who worked on the middle floors. His place wasn't even on the bottom floor, where Sakura was located as the general secretary for the building. He travelled everywhere, seeing the businessmen (there were women too, and they scared him even more so he often decided to forget about them) take their coffee from his hand and then turn around without even saying thank you, behaving as though he was a table to take things off of and put rubbish on. The amount of crap he got loaded with was unbelievable. He made at least three trips a day to the dumpster around the back.

Another glance at his watch – 9:04am – and Naruto hurried inside, his hair and clothes wet but fortunately not soaked through. Sakura was already there, of course. She started earlier than almost everyone, beat only by the janitor who opened the building up at 6am every weekday morning, and closed it at 11pm each night, and occasionally some people in a business meeting that couldn't seem to wait for normal person hours. Having turned twenty three yesterday, she was now the same age as Naruto. He was secretly pleased to see the faint bags under her eyes and her overall peaky demeanour. At least he wasn't the only one hungover going into work today!

"You're late." Sakura informed him as he strolled over to the desk. Her dyed pink hair was tied into a loose ponytail that crept over her right shoulder. In front of her were a computer and many folders and piles of paper. There was never a dull moment for her, especially first thing in the morning when everyone wanted details of certain things from the night before.

"Less than five minutes late – that doesn't count!" Naruto grinned. "I'm pretty proud of my time actually. Half an hour ago I was still having breakfast with Hinata."

"Oh yeah, she didn't come last night, did she?"

"You know you had a good night when you can't even remember the people who came." Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, she didn't come…er, come to think of it; I think I forgot to ask her." For a moment he felt bad, then he shrugged the feeling away. She would have said no anyway, surely. "She's coming out with us on Friday though."

Sakura looked surprised. "That'll be a first. At least we're going out on a Friday this time. Remind me never to celebrate my birthday on a Sunday again…I think this is the worst Monday morning I've ever had."

"And yet you still look as dazzlingly beautiful as always." Naruto said with his face deadpan.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the blond. "Always a charmer," she remarked, deciding to take his comment at face value. She shook her head. "You're distracting me, as always! I have to sort out a mountain of forms for the new lead CEO for Uchiha Powers."

Uchiha Powers was on the top floor of the building. It was the most powerful and successful energy company in the country, focusing purely on renewable energy and making it work in ordinary everyday homes for a cheap price. There were hundreds of workers on that floor, all who had literally worked their way to the top to be there. It had a great reputation and was somewhere everyone wanted to work. Founded by Uchiha Fugaku, his son Uchiha Itachi had taken over after his death. Everyone was shocked to hear three weeks ago that he had died suddenly from an illness that proved to be terminal. The illness had been hushed up so no one was really sure what it was. His brother was the last Uchiha left.

"He's here already? What was his name again?" Naruto asked, only vaguely interested. He didn't really care about the business of people who treated him like he wasn't even there.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura replied. "He walked past here earlier and didn't even glance in my direction. He expected to have someone else push the button for the lift and all. One of his assistants dropped the forms on my desk without even a word. It was quite rude." She lowered her voice and looked around before whispering, "I will say though, he is one fine looking man for an asshole."

Naruto groaned. "Sakura, can you stop chasing after unsuitable men! If he's such an ass, I'd bet he'll never even talk to us."

"That's true." She conceded with a sigh. "Anyway, we lowly folk still have work to do. Everyone's probably wondering where their coffees are, coffee boy, so get to it."

With that, she turned to her computer screen and started typing; clearly indicating it was time to get on with some work. Naruto pulled a face at her and grinned as he saw she was trying not to giggle and then pushed the button for the lift. _Thank goodness for lifts_, he thought, as he considered the prospect of carrying trays of tea and coffee and biscuits up ninety six flights of stairs to Uchiha Powers. Of course, he wasn't the only 'coffee boy' in the entire building. His floors were eighty six to ninety six, right at the top. Stupidly, the communal kitchen area was on floor two, which meant a lot of his time was spent in this lift. It smelt faintly of aftershave this morning, like someone hadn't had time to shower and so sprayed it desperately to rid them of any foul stench. There was a poster on the wall opposite to the doors saying 'Working Hard or Hardly Working?' which Naruto supposed was meant to be amusing.

The doors pinged open on floor eighty six, and Naruto's work day began.

A couple of hours later and Naruto's head was still pounding. He had just finished telling a Mr Watson that Miss Smith had cancelled their meeting on Tuesday at 5pm and had rescheduled to Thursday at 1pm and had gotten a whole load of abuse for it. That wasn't good enough, that wasn't professional, you tell her this, you tell her that, and then after all this yelling in the end he decided to go and see her himself. Well, if more people did that Naruto would be out of a job. Or at least some of his job. People always wanted a cup of coffee at least. Whatever happened to don't shoot the messenger anyway?

Now, he was delivering coffees up to floor ninety six again. This was always the busiest floor, and the floor he was treated like dirt the most on. These people may be doing well for the environment and giving him cheap electricity bills, but man were they rude in the process. He was carrying a particularly loaded tray aswell. As he entered the floor, there was the usual buzz of voices and phones ringing and keyboards clicking.

He marched forward (he had learned early on that if he waited for someone to let him walk past, this would never happen and he'd be left standing for ages) and placed coffee after coffee on desks, never once hearing a thank you. Then, just as he was about to turn a corner, someone pushed backwards on their chair, hitting into him. He stumbled, tripped over one of the chair's legs and crashed into someone, spilling coffee all over them and smashing cups to the ground.

All at once, there was silence. Everyone turned to look, in horror, at the scene that had just played out. A phone was ringing continuously in the background, but for once no one picked it up and shouted into it.

Naruto realised he had actually landed on top of the man he had basically just assaulted by accident. He picked himself up gingerly and then offered his hand, a blush creeping over his face as he saw he had humiliated himself in front of the most reputable people in the entire building. Why couldn't this have happened on floor eighty six at least!

The man was tall, with raven dark hair in messy spikes and piercing black eyes. His face had well-defined cheekbones and a strong jaw and it was twisted into a scowl. He was wearing what was clearly an expensive designer suit, all black and a white shirt, stained brown with all of the coffee spilt over him. He ignored Naruto's hand and picked himself up, standing at least three inches above the blond.

"I am so, so sorry," Naruto spluttered, "I didn't see you there. I tripped over the chair there because she pushed it back and I was right behind it –" The woman who was sat in the chair looked terrified suddenly, her eyes widening, as she hastily tucked her chair in again and faced her computer screen rigidly. "I'll – I'll buy you a new suit. I'll clean up this mess right away." He regretted offering to buy a new suit – that suit probably cost more than a month of his wages, but what else was he supposed to do? Everyone was looking at him.

The man looked Naruto up and down, and then raised an eyebrow. It arched perfectly, showing a pure look of contempt. "I highly doubt you could afford to buy me a new one. Just clean this mess and then get back to doing your pathetically easy job right – if you can even manage that." The words were cold, and cut deep into Naruto, making him feel angry and hurt at the same time. The man clearly didn't care, because with that he stalked off towards a room, dripping coffee behind him.

But Naruto wasn't going to let this slide.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted at him. He was not going to be spoken to like that and just allow that guy to get away with it. Who the hell did he think he was anyway? Some kind of celebrity? "Where do you get off talking to me like that?" He demanded to know. "I apologised, there's no need to talk down to me like that."

A few people gasped. The man stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. There was some kind of glint in his eyes as he scanned Naruto again. Then he carried on walking in the direction he was headed.

"Asshole." Naruto muttered under his breath.

Everyone sprang back into action at that point. And to Naruto's horror, a man ran after the rude guy shouting, "Mr Uchiha! Mr Uchiha are you scalded? We can get you a new suit pronto!"

_I just spilled coffee all over the new CEO for Uchiha Powers. I just shouted at Uchiha Sasuke. _Naruto thought, as he walked over in a daze to get a mop and a dustpan and brush. He closed his eyes and groaned. Yep, he knew today wasn't going to be a good day but that just blew his expectations out of the water. What a brilliant first day Sasuke was having.

As he cleaned up the mess, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched. His neck tingled with it, as though someone was whispering onto it, their breath tickling him. He turned around, but no one was watching him. Everyone had returned to their daily routine. The scene was over; it was as if, without Sasuke there, Naruto no longer existed.

Sakura was laughing very hard when Naruto told her later, back at his apartment. He had invited her round for dinner just to tell her the story as she'd been so busy for the rest of the day they'd barely been able to talk. She'd heard a rumour that Uchiha Sasuke had been pushed over and had boiling hot coffee poured over him, causing him to scream at the culprit. And then the culprit screamed back at him! Naruto rolled his eyes at the exaggerated story, and set her straight. Did office workers really have nothing to better to do than gossip? He supposed not.

"It wasn't even boiling hot!" Naruto protested. "It was just warm. He wasn't _hurt_ or anything. And I didn't do it on purpose!"

"I can't believe you!" She cackled. "Sasuke's here one day and already you've made him an enemy for life. Still," her laughter died down, "it wasn't fair of him to say those things to you. Still, I can't believe you talked back. I bet that's never happened to him before."

"I didn't realise he was bloody Uchiha Sasuke, did I?" Naruto sighed. "I mean there should be a photo of him up in the front lobby so people know who to avoid!"

Sakura giggled. "Deep down I bet he's not so bad. He may even have a heart."

Naruto shook his head vehemently. "No way. I hope I never see that tool again. Man, he irritated me. It ruined my day."

His friend patted his hand. "Hey," she murmured, "don't be so down. You're great at your job. You know that. Today was just unlucky."

"Yeah, but he's right. My job is pathetically easy. I'm not being challenged, am I? I don't look forward to work."

"Not many people do. Today, for example, I didn't want to get out of bed."

"That's just because you were hungover. You enjoy sorting out everyone's business and seeing to people. You're bossy, it's your thing." At this joke, Naruto smiled, but Sakura sensed there was still sadness within him. "I don't know…maybe it's the second glass of wine talking…but sometimes I wish I was one of those businessmen I give coffee to. I want to be a big shot one day. Everyone knows Uchiha Sasuke's name."

Sakura said gently, "To be fair, he was born into the right family there."

"He's smart though…maybe he's not like his brother Itachi – he's certainly meaner – but it's not like he'll be a fish out of water as CEO. He'll be great, just you wait and see." Naruto shrugged. "Listen to me moping. Tuck in, Sakura. I ordered some food for Hinata too, but she hasn't come home yet."

"If you're really serious about wanting to make your mark in the business world, why not see if there are any openings on floor ninety six?" Sakura asked him. "In fact, I can check tomorrow for you."

"Whoa, floor ninety six? Reaching a bit high there aren't we, Sakura? I wouldn't even be able to work on floor one. I don't have a degree, remember? I wouldn't last five minutes." Naruto told her with a frown.

Sakura wasn't deterred. "Okay, you don't have the right qualifications, but don't you want to prove Sasuke wrong? You are worth something. Why not just try?"

"Fine. I'll make an even bigger laughing stock of myself tomorrow." Naruto said wearily, just as the front door opened and Hinata came in, looking just as tired and defeated.

"Evening, Hinata, how come you're back so late?" Naruto greeted his roommate, after casting a look at Sakura that clearly meant to keep quiet about their conversation beforehand.

Hinata rubbed her eyes as she kicked the door shut and sat at the table to join them. "A kid swallowed a crayon. An ambulance had to be called and I had to fill in a lot of paperwork."

"Christ, was the kid okay?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, he was fine. He didn't actually choke on it, just swallowed it straight down, but it was enough to frighten the assistant who had just seen him do it." Hinata answered. Then she seemed to remember herself, and retreated back into her self-conscious ways. "Um, is there any food here for me?"

Naruto handed her a paper bag. "In there. We've only just started eating really, so you're just in time."

Hinata smiled. "Wonderful. I'll just go and get changed into something more comfortable and then I will join you both. If I am not intruding on anything, that is." The last sentence she spoke was very difficult to get out, but she had to clarify this. She chewed her lip anxiously.

"What? No!" Naruto burst into laughter, his earlier sadness forgotten, for now. "Hurry up, Hinata, I'm starving."

As she left the room, Sakura turned to Naruto. "I will check the job openings tomorrow. There's bound to be some – Sasuke will surely be opening up new posts and swapping people around to suit his own way of working."

"Whatever, Sakura. I don't want to think about Sasuke or work anymore. Let's just enjoy our ramen, okay?"

"Okay."

She didn't say a word more about it after that, even when Naruto ended up telling Hinata about him spilling coffee all over Sasuke. It _was_ pretty hilarious, and she found herself laughing for the second time at this story. She couldn't shake the worried feeling she had about Naruto's despair with his job though. Somehow she'd sort this out for him. It would all work out okay.

Later that night, after Sakura had gone home and he had bid Hinata goodnight, Naruto lay in bed staring up at his ceiling, thinking about the day's events. Dinner had turned out to be pretty fun, and Hinata and Sakura seemed to be getting along brilliantly, which was a relief. He just wished he hadn't crashed into that stupid Uchiha Sasuke. He could still feel rage boiling inside of him when he thought of the words he said to him. The man was clearly arrogant. Of course he was. He was born into luxury and probably didn't even know how to make a cup of coffee. And Naruto did make a damn good coffee, so he was wrong insinuating Naruto wasn't even good enough to do that.

That damn man. Why did he keep coming into Naruto's head, when he wasn't invited? Naruto turned over with a force, as though to knock the Sasuke thoughts straight out of his brain. Eventually, tiredness overwhelmed him and he drifted off to sleep, ready to start the whole routine of the daily grind again tomorrow.

His dream was strange. He was making coffee but each time he made one it vanished, until eventually he gave up and threw a mug away from himself. It hit a man in the back, and then all of the coffee he had made appeared in a huge brown fountain, covering the unsuspecting man he had hit, drenching him. It was Uchiha Sasuke, and the sight of him caught Naruto's breath. But no sooner had he turned around, had the dream shifted itself and veered into another subject completely, where Naruto was late for work because Hinata was shaking him…

…and then he realised the latter wasn't a dream after all as he woke up to another gentle shake from his roommate.

"Naruto, it's almost nine! Wake up!" She cried.

Naruto sat up in bed, almost colliding with her. He had forgotten to set his alarm clock. The clock almost grinned at him, proudly showing off the time as 8:49am.

"Bollocks," Naruto cursed. He was going to be late again.

**Author's Note: **_**Thank you for taking the time to read my new story! It has been the first thing to inspire me in a long time. I would really appreciate some reviews from you readers out there to let me know there is interest in this. I will try to keep the updates for this regular, so keep an eye out for the next chapter.**_


	2. Chapter Two - Perceptions

**Chapter Two: Perceptions**

Uchiha Sasuke hated the way everyone looked at him. The same kind of adoration, mixed with fear of putting a foot wrong and facing his wrath. No one dared to ever speak their own minds during any meeting he held; they all simply agreed with his own projections unless explicitly asked to voice their own opinion. Very rarely did they disagree, either. Sasuke wondered how his brother could deal with this day in, day out. He had only been here a day and already it was getting on his nerves. Why couldn't they just treat him like a normal person? He wasn't going to _fire_ them for having a voice of their own. In fact, the only interesting thing that happened yesterday was when that stupid coffee boy unloaded a tray of coffee all over his suit. Well, initially Sasuke was pissed. The day had already been dragging along with everyone brown nosing him and to suddenly have a hot liquid envelope a £1250 suit was not the best thing that could have happened to him.

But then the stupid boy argued back. He clearly had no idea who Sasuke was. He relished the moment, being shouted at, being a nobody for one moment. Everyone else in the room couldn't believe it. He had gotten a good second look at the boy and saw he was shorter than he was, with blond spiky hair and faint scars that almost looked like whiskers across his face. He was curious as to how they came about, but had been distracted by the enraged look in the boy's big blue eyes. His eyes burned into Sasuke with true dislike. There was no adoration there that was for sure.

Was he interested in the man? Sasuke shrugged the thought away. He didn't have the time to deal with this right now. He turned over in his large double bed to see the woman he had spent the night with fast asleep. He struggled to remember her name. Susie? Something beginning with 'S', he was sure. Her red hair spread across the pillow like a halo and she looked truly serene in that moment.

"Wake up." Sasuke ordered her in a loud voice.

She mumbled something incoherent, but didn't open her eyes.

Sasuke frowned. He raised his voice higher. "Wake up!"

This time she did fully wake, startled by the sudden noise. She saw Sasuke was now sat up in the bed and sat up with him, absent-mindedly adjusting her hair to make it look more presentable. "Sorry, have I overslept?" She asked timidly.

"Just go." Sasuke snapped, bored of her already.

"Don't you want to…have some more fun before I leave?" She smiled, ignoring the bluntness of him. "I can stay a lot longer, you know."

"Not with you I don't." Sasuke replied coldly. "Are you going to leave or am I going to have to drag you out of bed?"

The woman blinked, a little taken aback by his rudeness. She plastered a fake smile on her face, lips trembling slightly, and proceeded to get dressed. She was out of the door in less than five minutes. Not a word was spoken in that time, the atmosphere heavy and awkward.

Why did he waste his time with these countless people? They were all basically the same person. Some hopeless person at a bar, who approached him and asked if he was single, then didn't mind when he ignored their requests for a drink, then came back with him and fucked him and if they were lucky, fucked him again in the morning. It was the same old story every night. None of these people actually meant anything to him. They were just a way of getting quick pleasure. It was all too easy to achieve them. One smile and they thought he really understood them. It truly was pathetic.

As he showered off the smell of sex surrounding him from the night before, he wondered what that hopeless boy was doing right now. Did he work in the building regularly? Would he be there today? _Stop it_, he thought suddenly. _Don't you dare waste your time with that lost cause._ He slipped himself into a brand new suit, bought for him courtesy of some executive who had witnessed the entire debacle yesterday. He figured he'd appreciate it if he wore it today. Maybe people would stop being so scared of him if they saw he did acknowledge kind actions and was behaving nicely. Maybe people would actually talk to him like a normal human being.

"Lovely day, isn't it, Mr Uchiha?" His driver commented as he opened the door to his car.

It was true; despite the rain yesterday, the sun was now shining and there were barely any clouds in the sky. It felt like a good day to try something new. "Very nice," Sasuke muttered as he settled himself in the backseat. "Step on it, I don't pay you to make me late." He added, frowning.

As he strode confidently through the front doors to the building, the pink-haired woman at reception called him over. He sighed, exasperated already with the day and went over to see what she wanted.

"I am sorry to bother you, Mr Uchiha," she started politely, before indicating a form in her hand with a nod, "but I was wondering if I could clarify something with you. It's about your new job opening for a new Chief Networking Officer."

Sasuke cut across her immediately after hearing this. "If you have any enquiries, please address one of my associates."

"Wait! It's just one thing. Please?" She appealed.

He was supposed to be being nice today, he remembered. "Well?" He said.

"They have to be good with people, don't they? So qualifications aren't as important as say for the Treasurer?"

"They would still have to have some degree of understanding about the world of business, Miss…" Sasuke paused, wondering if it was even worth knowing her name.

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura." She filled in the gap for him anyway; hardly able to believe she was actually having a conversation with Uchiha Sasuke himself. She had to admit, she was a little in awe of the man and couldn't help but find herself blushing a little. "But suppose they did? But they didn't have a degree or anything like that. Would you give them a shot?"

"Miss Haruno, why would I hire someone without the qualifications required when I could hire someone with them?" Sasuke asked her.

Sakura faltered. "He…he really wants to make something of himself?" She murmured.

"What?" Sasuke barked.

Sakura shook her head. "Never mind. Thank you for your time."

"I am not sure why you are thanking me. You have simply wasted my time and yours with these pointless questions you should already know the answer to." Wanting this to be his final word on the matter, he turned away and headed towards the lift, just as the front doors opened and he heard a breathless voice shout, "Yes! Only twenty minutes late!"

It was the boy. The blond boy. He looked rumpled and excited and tired all at the same time. Sasuke stopped where he was and simply observed him run over to Sakura and chatter to her about waking up late and not believing his luck. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke questioningly, obviously wondering why he was still here. The boy followed her gaze and made direct eye contact with Sasuke for a moment. Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but straight away the boy looked back at Sakura and carried on talking.

Sasuke felt strange. How dare he just blank him like that! He felt like going over there and shaking him by the shoulders. He wasn't sure why he was so bothered by that, but he was. No one ignored Uchiha Sasuke. Even as he thought them he realised his thoughts were largely hypocritical, but it was as if he wanted everyone else to ignore him, and the boy to pay him some attention.

That was enough of that. He stepped into the lift as it opened and purposefully kept his eyes above normal level, so he wouldn't see Sakura and the boy laughing together. At least he knew one thing – the boy did seem to work here every day. And he appeared to be friends with Haruno Sakura.

"What was he doing looking at us?" Naruto asked Sakura as Sasuke vanished inside the lift. He had felt good about ignoring him a few moments ago, as though he was nothing to him and might as well have not been there for all the attention he gave him.

"I spoke to him just now. Just before you came in, actually." Sakura told him almost reluctantly, but there was a hopeful look in her eyes that made Naruto shake his head straight away.

"Oh God, what have you done?" He groaned. "Please tell me you weren't asking him about some stupid job up there. I was just being emotional last night; I don't even know what came over me. Just leave it, Sakura. I'm fine the way I am. Making coffee for people is clearly my calling in life."

Sakura poked him in the arm, hard. "Stop being so defeatist! You could become the CNO for Uchiha Powers. You'd be interviewed by Sasuke himself."

Naruto laughed at that. "Oh yeah, that'd work. Hey Sasuke, remember when I spilled coffee all over you on your first day and then yelled at you? Can I have your really important job please? What, qualifications? No, I don't have any." He rolled his eyes. "You're right. I'm going to nail this interview."

She raised an eyebrow. "So you're going to go for it then?"

"No!" He burst out. "I mean…maybe. I might as well. No harm in trying, is there? When is it anyway?"

Sakura's eye flickered to her computer screen as she attempted to hide a smile. "I can fix you up an interview at 5pm this Monday in Sasuke's office on floor ninety six. Aren't you lucky? That means you won't miss a minute of work."

"Sakura!" Naruto protested limply. "Can't you give me an earlier slot?"

"Nope," she shrugged, "this is the last spot. They're only interviewing ten men and women. You'd be number eleven."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at this. "So, wait. This sounds like you're just sneaking me into this list."

"Pays to be friends with the overall secretary for management, prospective employment and staff issues, doesn't it?"

Despite his nerves about this, Naruto grinned at her. "Well, at least we can laugh about it after when it all goes horribly wrong."

"Oh ye of little faith," Sakura said fondly, "you never know. This time next week you could be the new Chief Networking Officer…you'll forget about me and turn into the men you despise. There will be a new coffee boy for the top ten floors. I'll be a distant memory." She clutched her heart dramatically and pretended to weep.

"Don't be ridiculous." Naruto chuckled. "How could I ever forget you?"

"That's the spirit. Believe it will happen." She said. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have a quick alteration I need to make to this list…"

Naruto nodded. He gave her a sudden hug, surprising her, but withdrew before she had time to react and hurried to the lift. Big displays of affection in public weren't really his thing, despite how overly loud and brash he could be. But he was overwhelmingly grateful to Sakura for basically forcing him into this opportunity. The worst that could happen was that he'd be laughed out of the office, and it'd be awkward from then on serving coffee on that floor. It was pretty awkward there anyway. He kept waiting to bump into Sasuke again but never seemed to.

The day pressed on, largely uneventful. It was amazing how much had suddenly changed in the space of a couple of days for Naruto. He had gone from wondering if he was ever going to escape from the monotony of his current job, to the opportunity of a lifetime handed to him on a plate. It was too easy, he knew that. He wouldn't get the job. For one thing, Uchiha Sasuke hated him, clearly. But he'd have tried and that was the most important thing. One day he was going to be a successful businessman, working hard for his money. He felt inspiration for the first time in years, ever since he was a little kid and told his foster parents he was going to be king someday. He didn't listen to them when they told him that wasn't possible – he was going to make it possible. Of course, that didn't happen. But perhaps this time, this actually could.

He had just finished delivering biscuits and tea to a meeting going on on floor eighty eight when the lift opened to reveal Uchiha Sasuke inside it and a smart-looking woman. She stepped out, barely avoiding Naruto as she rushed back to her desk with some paperwork. Naruto hesitated for a moment as they made eye contact, then stepped in and pressed the button for floor one.

He knew he would have to travel up to floor ninety six with Sasuke before he could escape him.

There was some faint music in the lift that could be heard, which was comforting, to say the least. Naruto didn't fancy complete and utter silence, which could often be louder than any words spoken.

Then, suddenly, Sasuke was in front of Naruto and pushing him up against the back of the lift, their faces close to touching. Sasuke's hands were placed either side of Naruto's head and he stared into his eyes.

"What the fuck?" Naruto shouted, immediately trying to push away from the taller man.

Sasuke placed a finger to Naruto's lips. The gesture was surprisingly delicate. Naruto stopped still in shock. He was feeling very strange all of a sudden. Sasuke leaned in further, his mouth an inch away from Naruto's ear, when he whispered softly, "I don't know your name."

His breath tickled Naruto's neck, making him feel almost…tingly. Naruto shook his head fervently to try and shake himself out of this sudden trance Sasuke had caught him in. He couldn't help but smell a strong scent of musk and vanilla. As he stared at the man two inches from him, he noticed how dark his eyes truly were, and how soft his skin was touching his own. "Uzumaki Naruto." He murmured through Sasuke's finger, not sure why he was keeping his voice low too. Nor was he sure why exactly he was answering Sasuke, giving him exactly what he wanted.

"Naruto." Sasuke repeated. This whole time he had been expressionless, but the faintest flicker of something crossed his face then at this utterance of Naruto's name. Naruto couldn't figure out what it was, it came and went too quickly. There was a second where they simply looked at each other, but it felt like minutes. Naruto couldn't even hear the music from the lift anymore.

The lift doors opened abruptly, shattering the intense atmosphere that had suffocated the small space. Sasuke turned around just as fast, his dark hair brushing against Naruto's face a confirmation for just how close they had been. He didn't look back as he walked away and as the lift doors closed once more Naruto was alone.

He put his own finger to his lips, where Sasuke's had just rested. What the hell had just happened? And why did he feel so nervously excited about it? A feeling of disgust washed over him at that thought promptly. This guy was a humongous jackass. He probably only wanted to know his name so he could report the incident yesterday and clearly had no understanding of personal space. He had no idea how Sasuke was going to react when he turned up to the interviews on Monday. The man was suddenly very unpredictable with his behaviour.

Something about the way he had acted made Naruto keep quiet about that moment in the lift to Sakura, as he signed out with her at the end of the day. She was buzzing about his interview next week, but he was too busy musing over Uchiha's strange manner. She didn't seem to notice his distraction from their conversation, or if she did, she didn't comment on it. Perhaps she assumed he was nervous.

Hinata was already home by the time he got in, exhausted and weirded out by the afternoon's events. She greeted him with a small smile and the promise of her special home-made lasagne, which pleased him to no end. He was truly lucky to have a roommate like her.

"Thank you. You have no idea how strange my day was today…" He said as he joined her at the table.

"It seems like all of your days are becoming eventful." Hinata commented with a smile. She poured some wine and took a self-conscious sip, careful not to spill any on her clothes. "Unlike mine." She added, very quietly.

"Are you looking forward to Friday?" Naruto asked, skirting past anymore mention of today. He hadn't meant to let slip it had been a weird day. It was weird in itself that he didn't want to tell his friends, but something in him was stopping him, telling him to hold back about this.

"Somewhat." Hinata replied. She chewed her lip, realising that response was hardly enthusiastic. "I mean, yes," she backtracked hastily to avoid upsetting him, "it's just, I have only really met Sakura properly out of all of your friends…how many are coming?"

Naruto paused to think. "Well, Sakura is coming, so you can talk to her and me if you feel a little overwhelmed by it all. I don't have _that_ many friends though, so I wouldn't worry. Kiba and Shino are coming anyway, aren't they?" A nod from Hinata allowed Naruto to continue. "There you are then. Sai is coming…Shikamaru, Temari, Ino, Choji, Kankuro, Lee and Gaara. Trust me, you'll love everyone."

"I'm sure you're right," Hinata agreed, although she was a little alarmed at the large number of people. Still, she was doing this so she could get along better with Naruto. And what better way of doing that than getting along well with his friends?

After dinner, she offered to wash up again. Rather than usually protesting for a bit and then agreeing, Naruto offered to help her instead.

She washed; he dried and put away. It was a wonderful ten minutes together. She felt it was more personal than ever before. Naruto even laughed at some of her jokes and splashed water at her. When she splashed him back, they fell into even more peals of laughter. She wondered why Naruto had helped for once. She tried not to let herself grow hopeful for it meaning anything other than a random kind gesture.

Naruto had surprised himself by offering to help Hinata, but he wanted his mind taken off the surly businessman for as long as possible before retiring to his room and obsessing over it. He realised he hadn't even told Hinata about the job interview on Monday, but he was surprisingly having too much fun to bother talking about serious things right now. This was a new side of the usually shy girl. It was like she had forgotten who she was for a while. Seeing her laugh uproariously was actually the best thing Naruto had seen all day.

His brain instantly objected to this thought, thinking of Sasuke's plump lips forming Naruto's name so solemnly. _Damn_, Naruto growled. Just as he was getting distracted, the Uchiha crept back in. He was unwanted as far as Naruto was concerned. He wasn't sure why exactly he stayed on his mind. He especially wasn't sure why he remembered that Sasuke's lips were plump…

When the dishes were done, Hinata whispered, "Thank you, Naruto."

"Why are you thanking me, nutcase?" Naruto grinned. "I should be doing them every night. In fact," he hoped he was going to stick to what he was going to say next, "we should do this every night from now on. It makes it fairer, doesn't it? And maybe if I ever learn to cook as well as you do, I'll cook you your own meal one day!"

"Oh!" Hinata squealed, a high pitched gasp that startled Naruto. A crimson blush appeared across her cheeks and she turned to hide her face.

"Man, you'd think I'd just told you we'd won the lottery or something." Naruto joked. He yawned suddenly. "I'm beat. I'm off to bed. Thanks for waking me up this morning, by the way, Hinata. I appreciate it."

"It's – it's no problem." She mumbled.

"Really, you're a great friend." Naruto persisted, treating her to a wide grin. He reached out and ruffled her hair fondly. "I don't know how I'd manage without you! Good night."

With that, he was off into his bedroom. He didn't notice Hinata's expression had dulled a little at what he thought was a tremendous compliment. She sighed. Of course she was a great friend. That's all she ever was, it seemed. She walked into her bedroom and shut the door before allowing the first signs of tears to appear at the corners of her eyes.

It was always going to be like this. She remembered the day she first came to see the apartment, to see if she would be a suitable roommate for the current tenant. She hadn't imagined a boy her own age with a cheeky self-confidence, a dazzling smile and messy blond hair. They had gotten along well in the quick, informal interview where he asked her what she did and what her hobbies were. He told her she was the first person he had seen and he liked her so much he didn't need to see anyone else. It was around that moment she fell in love with him.

It was a hopeless love. The kind of love you knew was doomed when you succumbed to it. She probably should have politely refused to become his roommate after all and found somewhere else, but she did want to be his friend if not anything else and so excitedly agreed. At first their relationship was a bit awkward, a mere hello or occasional breakfast together, but eventually they made a point of having breakfast and dinner together every day – unless Naruto woke up late or they were doing something in the evenings separately, which happened often, unfortunately for Hinata. She never would tell Naruto outright her feelings for him; it would make things awkward again. She did sometimes wonder if he had guessed them, but she imagined he would have said something. He would have at the very least dropped a hint that would set her straight. In a way, sometimes she preferred it like this, where she could pretend that if she did say anything he would take her in his arms and sweep her away. This was opposed to the reality of the situation, which would be more like a sad and tactful rejection, followed by her moving out due to the mortification of it.

Yes. She was fine with how things were. That was what she told herself anyway.

XXX

Sasuke was, as usual despite the late hour, awake.

His apartment was the penthouse suite of the building not too far from work, with brilliant views of the city and the harbour side a fair distance away. It had two bedrooms, not that he really required the second and the front door opened into a huge living room complete with a fireplace and flat-screen TV on the wall. The whole place had a rather boring white and brown colour scheme going on, including the kitchen, although the surfaces were a warm honey-brown colour that looked far more inviting. He was out on the balcony he could get to from his bedroom. The glass double doors revealed a dozing figure in the middle of the bed inside caught in the moonlight, but the rest of the room was in darkness.

Sasuke propped an elbow up on the safety wall protecting him from certain death and smoked lazily. As it was quite a cold night, the smoke looked thick and greyer than ever. His normal breath paled in comparison. He gazed out into the city and wondered where all of the cars out there driving were going at such a time like this. What was so important? He could see his own work building from here – he guessed it would be an approximate twenty minute walk to get there even though he would always be chauffeur driven. _Perks of the family name_, he thought bitterly.

He stamped the dying ends of his cigarette out on the ashtray next to his elbow, and then returned to his bed. He carelessly shoved the other person in the bed, not too bothered about whether they would wake up or not.

The man in the bed with him had blond tousled hair and freckles across his cheeks. He reminded Sasuke of the boy at work. Naruto. Perhaps that was why he chose him for tonight. Perhaps it was time to check out Naruto himself. Sasuke smirked. He pondered whether this Naruto would be as easy as his double in Sasuke's bed right now.

He reckoned it would be pretty easy. No one could resist Uchiha Sasuke. And if they did? Well, that made the chase all the more fun.

**Author's Note:_ Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :) Next update should be same time next week. _**_**Thank you so much for the reviews. They are much appreciated and keep me motivated to continue this. Keep them coming!**_


	3. Chapter Three - Bonding

**Chapter Three: Bonding**

It had been a very strange week. As Naruto slid into a booth at the group's favourite bar, he was relieved that the weekend was tomorrow so he wouldn't have to face floor ninety six for two days at least. He couldn't explain it exactly, but he felt awkward up there, worrying that he would bump into Sasuke, wondering what he would say. As it was, he would now see him on Monday for probably the biggest surprise interview there was. The guy who delivers the coffee asking to be the new CNO. The more Naruto thought about, the more ridiculous it sounded. What the hell was he playing at, trying to actually accomplish something here? Sasuke would laugh in his face and turn him away without a word…

He hadn't seen him since that odd encounter in the lift. It was as if, now knowing Naruto's name, Sasuke had lost any interest he had in the blond. Naruto wasn't sure why this bothered him so much, but it did. Sasuke was the CEO, he was clearly busy and it was probably purely coincidental they hadn't seen each other since. And yet Naruto got the impression he was being avoided. That irked him even more. It should be him trying to avoid Sasuke, not the other way around! Sasuke was the one who trespassed into Naruto's personal space, acting like he could do that just because of his power within the building no doubt. God, this interview was going to be awkward. Maybe Sasuke wouldn't even be the one doing it, or maybe there would be other people in the room with them. Naruto hoped the latter, at least, would be true. Being in a room alone with Sasuke…it felt like he was vulnerable somehow in his presence.

Sai had bought the first round of drinks for everyone (a generous gesture, considering how many of them there were) and was back, carrying them on a tray that was clearly a loan from the bar. They were all regulars here by now and so were quite friendly with the staff. The owner of the bar, Ten Ten, gave Naruto a wave as she saw him looking over, then continued chatting to the others clamouring for some alcohol.

"Only an orange juice?" Sai remarked as he placed the glass down beside Hinata, who was looking very embarrassed to be here.

Hinata nodded. "I – I don't really drink. Thank you." She went to reach inside her purse, but Sai waved her away.

"Please. Your drink was the cheapest, Hinata, don't bother."

"Okay. Thank you again. It's nice to meet you." She said. She glanced at everyone. "All of you. My friends should be here soon."

Naruto put an arm around Hinata fondly. "And everyone is extremely happy to meet you." He told her, unsure why she was suddenly blushing furiously. "Right guys?" He added.

There was a grunt of "right" around the table.

"I'll properly introduce you now that we've all got a drink." Naruto decided. "Right. Well this is Sai. He's one of my closest friends, even if he can be a little blunt at times. He calls himself an artist, even though he's only sold two paintings. Really, he's a rich orphan living off his parents' cash!"

Sai smiled, though the light didn't really reach his eyes. "I can show you some of my sketches if you want," he offered Hinata. "I carry my sketchbook with me wherever I go most of the time."

"That would be great." Hinata said, genuinely meaning it. She took a second look at Sai. He was tall and slender, with the palest skin she had ever seen and short black hair, styled so neatly it was as if he had painted it on his head. Something about his dark eyes made him seem as though he knew more than he let on about a lot of things.

Just as Sai was reaching into his bag for presumably his sketchbook, Naruto halted him. "Hang on a second, Sai; I haven't introduced everyone else yet!"

Ino and Choji were introduced next. They were a couple, despite how opposite them seemed to be. Ino was clearly stunning, with wavy long blonde hair falling to her slim waist and an easy, open and friendly face. Choji had messy brown hair and was somewhat overweight, though Hinata would never dare comment on this. However, it was clear they cared for one another, as they sat holding hands and throwing each other the occasional fond look and smile throughout the evening. Ino was a nurse who also owned a florist, while Choji was a chef.

"This is Lee and his partner Gaara." Naruto nodded at the pair furthest away from where he and Hinata were sitting.

Hinata blinked. If she thought Ino and Choji looked unsuitable, the same could be said for these two. One was a very muscular tall man with raven hair in a bowl cut and huge eyebrows; the other was a small thin man with red spiky hair and what looked like no eyebrows at all.

The taller of the two waved at Hinata, grinning. "I'm Lee!" He called. She noticed that he, too, didn't seem to be drinking alcohol. "It's so lovely to meet you! Isn't it, Gaara?"

"A pleasure." The redhead, who was clearly Gaara, muttered. He wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Lee was at the prospect of a new person, but managed a feeble wave after clocking the disapproving look in Lee's eyes at his weak response.

"Gaara's a little distant at times." Naruto told Hinata under his breath. "Lee is a fitness instructor and Gaara is a politician." He pulled a face at that. "Don't bother talking to him about politics; he'll rip your argument apart so well you won't even know what you were arguing about before."

"That's because your arguments are stupid." Gaara said, rolling his eyes.

"Let's not talk about politics on a Friday night, please!" Sakura cut in with a laugh. "Honestly, Hinata will think we're truly dull if that's what our nights entail."

"Oh! No, not at all." Hinata protested immediately.

"You don't have to be polite. None of us are." A voice chuckled.

Hinata turned her head, facing a blonde woman who seemed at least two years older than the rest of them. She had her arms folded and there was a…sharp look about her.

"Temari." Naruto said. "And that's her brother, Kankuro, next to her – Gaara is also their sibling. They sure are keeping their friends within the family."

Kankuro proved another strange example of a person to Hinata. He was caked in make-up and even had purple nail varnish on. He raised an eyebrow at Hinata as she gawked at him and she looked away instantly, embarrassed at being caught staring.

Before the awkward moment could turn into an awkward silence, Kiba and Shino walked through the doors and began looking around for Hinata. She stood up, grateful for the distraction, and waved them over. Shino was wearing his huge coat as usual, even though it was boiling in here. Kiba was his usually scruffy self and far more cheery.

"Everyone, this is Kiba and Shino. I met them while I was at university and we've been friends ever since. Kiba is a dog trainer and Shino is an entomologist." Hinata told the group, feeling a little more comfortable now she was in safe territory.

"What's an entomologist?" Sakura asked, curious.

"Someone who specialises in studying insects." Someone answered before Shino could.

Forgotten in the shadows of the corner of the booth, an attractive man with black hair tied into a topknot sat, his knees propped up near his chest so his feet were on the seats. "I'm Shikamaru." He said. "Nice to meet you three."

"I wish you'd speak up more often, Shikamaru," Naruto moaned, "it's easy to forget that you're here."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I speak when I want to. Any more than that is too troublesome."

Kiba placed himself between Kankuro and Ino, clearly admiring the latter. "Bloody hell," he exclaimed when he saw Kankuro properly, "what do you think you are?"

"Excuse me?" Kankuro scowled.

"Nothing! Ignore me." Kiba smirked. "Man, I'm thirsty. Shino, get us a beer, would you?"

Shino sighed, as if he didn't have a choice in the matter. "Sure. Does anyone else want anything, as I am going up?"

He immediately regretted this question, as Temari, Sakura and Ino all asked for another drink. Nevertheless, he went up to the bar, striking up a conversation with the barmaid and having a seemingly enjoyable time there.

As the evening progressed, Hinata was beginning to enjoy herself and relax a lot more. Sai had showed her his sketches and they were truly incredible. He even offered to sketch her at some point, which she accepted after a little persuading. She had even warmed properly to Sakura, who had been telling anecdotes the whole night. Shino didn't seem to have a problem going back and forth to the bar for the whole night as he was getting on like a house on fire with Ten Ten up there. Kiba had clearly struck a nerve with Kankuro, as they spent most of the night steadily ignoring one another and occasionally having small jibes at each other. The same awkward tension seemed to be happening with Ino and Choji, who looked like they were trying their hardest to contain an argument. Temari and Shikamaru were the opposite, slowly moving closer to one another the more drinks they had. Lee and Gaara seemed in their own world. Lee was talking animatedly to Gaara and Gaara seemed to just be listening in return, but Lee didn't mind.

Hinata spent most of the evening chatting to Naruto, Sakura and Sai to her surprise. She was expecting to spend the majority of it with Kiba and Shino, but Shino was preoccupied with Ten Ten and Kiba was preoccupied with irritating Kankuro, it seemed. Naruto didn't put his arm around her again, but on the whole she felt herself getting closer to him, even though everyone else did most the talking. It seemed like he was a little distant sometimes and often blinked a few times if he was directly questioned, like he had to re-focus on the real world.

_I wonder what is going on in his mind_, she thought wistfully. If only she knew.

At around one, the bar began to shut. Sakura finished the remainders of her fifth drink, giggling. "We should go clubbing." She suggested.

"Clubbing?" Temari laughed. "Count me out. You young ones have fun though."

Shikamaru frowned at that. "Come on, Temari!" He said. "Have some fun. I'm going to go."

That surprised everyone. Shikamaru was, by nature, very lazy. It was enough that he came out with them to the same bar every Friday. He rarely took up an offer to travel further than this. He could tell this surprised the group, as he rolled his eyes and shrugged as if to say, "And what?"

Temari still shook her head. She looked uncomfortable suddenly. "No. I'm going to bed. I'm going to call up a taxi, is anyone else leaving?"

Gaara nodded. "We are." He said, indicating himself and Lee.

"I would like to dance, Sakura, but Gaara wants to…er…" Lee chuckled. "Express our love!"

There was a communal groan around the booth. "Do you have to put it like that, Lee?" Kankuro asked, wincing. "It's bad enough hearing about the action my little brother gets but I'd rather hear the bare facts than that cringe worthy talk. I'm coming by the way, Sakura." He added.

"Great! That's me, Shikamaru and you. Anyone else?"

Sai refused, opting to travel in the taxi with Temari and the others. Choji followed him, but Ino stayed put and said she was clubbing. It seemed the less sober of everyone was going out to get even drunker. It also seemed that Ino and Choji's disagreement hadn't been resolved.

The six getting in the taxi Temari had rang for left to wait outside. Meanwhile, Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, Kankuro and unexpectedly Kiba hailed down another taxi to go to the nearest club. Naruto, Hinata and Shino were left to order a taxi of their own.

"So, Shino," Naruto said, coming to life at last of his own accord. There was a playful look in his eyes. "You and Ten Ten, eh?"

Shino frowned. "Perhaps. I'd rather not talk about it, if that's alright with you."

"Don't be silly!" Naruto cried. He was somewhat drunk. "You're Hinata's best friend, and so am I, so that makes us just as close. You can tell me anything."

"All the same, perhaps when you're less drunk we can talk." Shino told him gently. He nodded at Hinata. By now, she had guided Naruto out onto the street and they were scanning the road for taxis. "I think I see one. Hey! Over here!"

"Are you staying over at mine?" Hinata asked.

"Nah, it's fine." said Shino. "Thanks for offering, though. I'm not so drunk that I don't know where I am, which is a relief!"

By the time they had left Shino in the taxi and gotten back to the apartment, Naruto didn't seem any less drunk and Hinata was dog-tired. She briefly wondered how the others were doing at the club before getting Naruto a glass of water.

"Thanks, Hinata. You know you're really nice to me, don't you?" Naruto burbled. "Too nice, I say. What have I ever done for you just as kind?"

"Drink the water. I'll make sure there's a glass on your bedside table in the morning and if you need to throw up, I'll put a bowl there too."

"See!" Naruto shouted in triumph, so loud Hinata waited for angry calls from their neighbours. Thankfully, there were none. "I told you that you were too nice to me." There was a pause. "He isn't nice to me at all. I can't stop thinking about him, it's so stupid. He shouldn't have bloody touched me."

Hinata froze where she was. "What was that, Naruto?" She inquired.

But the blond didn't reply, as he had fallen asleep on the sofa, drooling a little. Hinata tucked a blanket around him, left a bowl and some water like she had promised, and then put herself to bed. All in all, it had been a good night. She wondered who Naruto meant when he said someone had touched him, someone who was constantly on his mind. Perhaps it was just drunken nonsense.

She didn't really believe that, but she let it comfort her into sleep.

"I feel like death." Naruto informed her in the morning when he was finally awake. He rubbed his eyes blearily. "Remind me never to drink again."

Hinata smiled at that. "Somehow I don't think you'll listen to me." She giggled. "I didn't know whether you could stomach breakfast, so I decided to leave it up to you. What are you doing today?"

"God knows." Naruto replied with a sigh. He perked up suddenly. "Hey, did you have a good time last night? I don't even remember getting home, so thanks for looking after me."

"Yeah, it was fun. Your friends were really fun." Hinata said. "Shino gave me a ring earlier asking if he could hang out again next week, so he must have thought so too."

Naruto laughed. "If my memory wasn't so hazy, I would swear down it wasn't us he found entertaining, but Ten Ten."

Hinata laughed with him. "Perhaps. Kiba hasn't called yet, so perhaps I'll phone him to ask what he thought of you all. Did you have a good night?" Her question was edged with an undertone of seriousness. "You seemed a little distant throughout."

Her directness surprised both of them. Hinata couldn't believe she was having a conversation with Naruto where the words came so easily to her. Usually, she worried endlessly about what she would say in response, but this afternoon she was laughing and joking with him the morning after spending the night in a bar with him! Her growing confidence made her even more determined to find out what exactly was troubling Naruto. Naruto also couldn't believe how happily Hinata was talking to him. Where had the blushing, shy girl gone? It made him feel better to see her like this, even if his pounding headache and dry mouth begged to disagree with him.

"I was fine. Just a little stressed from work, I guess." It wasn't an outright lie, he decided. "Once this hangover's gone I'm sure I'll be as right as rain again."

"I…" Would she confront him about the mysterious person he complained about last night? Sometimes it was better to be left in the dark for as long as possible. "Okay. Can I get you anything?"

It was the kind of conversation where both parties knew the other was concealing something, choosing not to say whatever it was, but they pretended not to know this. Naruto heaved himself up and avoided Hinata's eyes as he told her he was going to shower. He felt bad about not being entirely truthful with her, but it was too weird to tell her his mind was on the new CEO for Uchiha Powers, Uchiha Sasuke. Sometimes it wasn't pure annoyance that crossed his mind whenever Sasuke did, but that further fuelled his irritation.

As he went into the bathroom, he turned around to address Hinata once more. "Did I tell you about the interview I'm having on Monday?" He asked her.

"Interview?" Hinata thought back. Sakura had mentioned something last night about a brilliant opportunity for Naruto, but he had seemed pretty eager to get off the subject so she hadn't pried any further into the details. Was that the interview? "I don't think so."

"I'm going for the CNO job opening up for Uchiha Powers." Naruto said, though he didn't seem very happy about this. "The interview is on Monday."

Hinata gasped. "That's brilliant! Well done! Why didn't you tell me before you were applying – I mean, er…" Her excited outburst caught up with her brain and she chewed her lip, uncomfortable. "I hope you get the position, Naruto."

"I doubt it somehow. I barely know anything about the world of business. I don't even know what a Chief Networking Officer does. It's so hopeless. I just wanted to make something of myself, you know? I don't want to be thirty and still be the guy delivering coffee to twenty year olds in business suits. I don't even have a suit." Naruto sighed again. "I'm not even sure why I'm telling you this. I suppose I'm hoping you'll be my good luck charm."

"Well, I can certainly help you out with one thing." Hinata told him. "Come with me a second."

She led Naruto to her bedroom, which made both of them feel anxious for a moment. Although Hinata often came into Naruto's room to wake him up for work, Naruto had never entered Hinata's room ever since she occupied it. He wondered what on earth in here could help him out. She had redecorated the room beautifully. The boring cream walls had vanished and were replaced with lilac coloured wallpaper with white roses across it. There was a fluffy white carpet in the middle of the room, surrounded by the oak floorboards. Hinata opened up her large wardrobe and, after searching around for something, brought out a black suit with a red tie.

"Try this on. I'm pretty sure you are around the same size as my cousin." She said.

Naruto couldn't believe it. "Wow, Hinata, this is great. This suit looks really professional! I was going to borrow one of Gaara's but he's way skinnier than me so it would have looked really tight. I hope this fits. I don't think I've ever even met your cousin. Why did he leave such a great suit here?"

Hinata hesitated. "He died a few years ago. It's just something I have to remember him by."

"Oh." Naruto was half in the suit already, but he paused. "Are you sure this is okay? I wouldn't want to wear this if it bothered you."

"I wouldn't have even mentioned it if it bothered me." Hinata said, smiling to fully reassure Naruto. "Neji would have been happy this suit is finally getting some use, I'm sure."

Naruto was in the suit now and stood pleased with himself in front of Hinata's full length mirror. Even with just the jacket and tie on and not even wearing a proper white shirt, he looked a hundred times more appropriate. He couldn't wait to see what he looked like with it on when he was clean and ready, with his hair done and wearing the matching trousers also. It was just about his size, if a little big, but it was hard to tell. A quick look at the label told him it was designer and he imagined himself a successful businessman, buying this because he could, not because it was going to be his one and only suit borrowed from someone who couldn't wear it anymore.

"Thank you so much. I actually feel a lot better in this. And you're definitely sure it's okay?" Naruto persisted.

"Yes! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Probably at least three more times." The blond said playfully. He carefully hung the suit back up on its hanger. "Should I take this into my room now?"

"You can do what you like. I'd say keep it, but…" Hinata frowned, awkward again.

"It's fine." Naruto murmured gently.

They acknowledged one another in a moment of comfortable silence. Then Naruto sniffed the air, pulling a face. "I'm pretty sure that smell is me. I'd better go and have that shower now. I'll just go put this in my wardrobe. Hey, Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks again."

"You're welcome." She said.

In the shower, Naruto felt a wave of immense relief as the hot water washed over him, cleaning his hungover body and making him feel like a person again, rather than a headache suffering wreck. The suit Hinata had lent him helped too. He had never heard of Neji before and as he thought about it, he realised he actually knew quite little about Hinata's family. He supposed it was the same vice versa, even though with his family there really wasn't much to say. He never even knew his parents. But he made a point to ask Hinata about her own family in the future.

Perhaps this was the start of a whole new chapter in his life. If he allowed himself to actually be optimistic, which he usually was, he would have a new job, a much happier and more confident roommate, great friends and brilliant times ahead of him. For such a usually happy person, he wasn't sure why this interview was weighing down on him so much. Once it was out of the way, he'd feel a lot better. Of course, if he actually got the job he'd feel a million times better.

If not, it was back to delivering coffee. He'd be giving coffee to the new CNO on Tuesday. That was biting.

He braced himself as he turned the water off, shivering as the cool breeze from the open window drifted in. Hinata had, of course, washed the towels already since yesterday and one was ready on the radiator for him. He couldn't help wondering why he never felt anything more for her. She was pretty, she was sweet, she was kind and helpful and lately she was even funny. Something just wasn't adding up there.

The last person he had felt anything for was Sakura, but that was back when they were first years at secondary school meeting for the first time. She'd put him straight pretty quickly so it never went anywhere and he supposed that had put him off women for a while. It disappointed him that he didn't like Hinata in that way, but at least she was a brilliant friend instead.

Later on, he was busy researching Uchiha Powers on his laptop when he found himself clicking on a page all about Sasuke. Of course he would have his own page on the internet, he truly was that important.

_Uchiha Sasuke was born in 1990 as the second son to the already influential Uchiha family. He was known to be very close to his brother, Itachi, for several of his childhood years before Itachi took over the business from their father. Their closeness was reported to have drifted apart during this time. After Itachi passed away, Sasuke became the new CEO for Uchiha Powers and also now has full ownership of it as the only Uchiha left. Sasuke is said to be settling in well, despite the period of absence while he mourned Itachi, and is adapting to the work…_

Then there was a whole load of business jargon Naruto couldn't even begin to understand. It made him feel very stupid. Still, he could learn fast, that was one good trait he had. There was nothing he couldn't do once he set his mind to it! Perhaps his optimism was coming back after all.

He paused as he went to close the window and go to bed, his eyes hovering over the most recent picture of Sasuke announcing his takeover of Uchiha Powers at a conference. The man looked almost bored and was dressed in a suit similar to Neji's.

It was another minute before Naruto finally shut his laptop down.

**Author's Note: **_**No Sasuke in this chapter?! (Well, unless you count constantly in Naruto's mind!) I wanted to take the time to develop the side characters and introduce their backgrounds and also progress Naruto and Hinata's relationship. Plus, they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder…**_

_**Thanks once again for the continuous support this story has been getting. I am hoping to keep the updates as regular as they have been and reviews inspire me so get writing some!**_


	4. Chapter Four - The Interview

**Chapter Four: The Interview**

Sakura beamed at Naruto from behind him, staring at him through the full length mirror in the ladies' bathroom on floor one. She had spent the last ten minutes sprucing him up in here, ignoring his initial protests at getting changed where a woman could walk in at any given second. Sakura had to admit, she was proud of her work. Naruto really looked the part for his interview. His hair was combed over, rather than its usual scruffy mop, he smelt like a strong musky fragrance and he was wearing Neji's suit, which had been freshly washed and ironed for him by Hinata the night before.

"You look brilliant." Sakura told him smugly. "Don't say I don't know how to spruce you up! I'm actually afraid I might rumple you if I give you a good luck hug right now."

Naruto rolled his eyes at her. "Don't be stupid." He said, although secretly he was bursting with pride of his own. "Come here –" He wrapped his arms around his friend in a warm embrace, his chin resting on the top of her head. "– tiny."

"I remember when I was taller than you, actually, so none of that tiny business," Sakura grinned. "Now, you best go and wait outside so you're not late. I can't wait to hear how it went! I'll be down here so you best come down straight away after, okay?"

"Of course." Despite his very vocal inhibitions about what was about to happen, he was feeling quietly confident now that he looked the part and had spent the weekend researching Uchiha Powers. He stepped into the lift as if it was a threshold to another world, offering a final wave to Sakura who was standing like a nervous parent near her desk. The button for floor ninety six was right at the top and as he pushed it, Naruto took in a deep breath. This was it.

The lift opened with a _ping _and Naruto arrived outside Sasuke's office door just as another man was leaving it. He looked very hassled and pushed past Naruto without as much as a glance, muttering to himself about it being a waste of time. Naruto wasn't sure whether to take that as good news that he clearly hadn't had a successful interview or bad news because if a real businessman had struggled, what on earth would he be like? There was no more time to worry, however, because the door opened again and a tall, slim woman with magenta coloured hair and thin spectacles on the end of her nose appeared.

"Are you here for the interview?" She barked at him. Her arms were folded across a lilac suit that looked very expensive. Naruto's mind automatically flashed back to his first meeting with Sasuke and knew if he had spilt the coffee over this woman she would definitely have made him pay for it.

"Y-yes?" Naruto answered, his nerves making his response sound like a question back to her.

Either she didn't notice or she didn't care, because she stepped back to allow him to pass. Naruto briefly wondered whether she would be doing the interviewing, but his hopes were instantly dashed when he entered the room and saw Uchiha Sasuke sat in the middle of a long, glass table in a huge black leather chair.

The office was surprisingly average-sized. Naruto had been expecting it to be the biggest, most luxurious office in the entire building. There were no windows in the room, which felt very claustrophobic. There was another door on the far side of the room that was slightly ajar and Naruto could just about make out it was a bathroom in its darkness. That was somewhat impressive, at least. Sasuke had his own ensuite bathroom in his own office. There were two pictures on the wall, one of Sasuke's father and one of his brother, and also three framed degrees but Naruto couldn't make out what they were or where they were from from this distance. Aside from the table and its accompanying chairs situated around it (Naruto guessed about twenty – none as plush or fancy as the one Sasuke was currently sat in) there wasn't much furniture. There was a large desk in a corner with a computer on it and a small cactus, and a water machine not too far from where Naruto was standing now. That was all. It was stifling and even though Naruto knew Sasuke held countless meetings in here he wondered if it was lonely at times.

As the door clicked shut behind him, Naruto tried to gauge Sasuke's expression at him being here. If Sasuke even recognised him with how he looked right now. Sasuke's face remained impassive, though he leaned forward in his chair as though he was suddenly interested. The woman (his secretary? Naruto wasn't sure) pointed to the chair directly opposite Sasuke.

"Sit there. Did you not bring anything?" She demanded to know.

Naruto looked panicked. He was supposed to _bring_ something? Why hadn't Sakura told him about that? Surely she would have known about something like that. "No, I didn't." He replied, hoping he sounded more confident than he actually felt.

She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. If this woman wasn't so scary, Naruto would be willing to describe her as pretty. She went to sit down in a chair three seats from him, nearer the edge of the table, when Sasuke raised a hand to stop her. She hesitated, seeming confused.

"I'd like to interview him alone. If you could just wait outside." Sasuke murmured, his voice so low Naruto had to strain his ears to hear him.

The woman was clearly surprised. "Alone? Don't you need me to make notes like with everyone else?"

"I don't think that will be necessary here." Sasuke shrugged. "Thanks, Karin." His tone was final. She pursed her lips, obviously irritated, but didn't comment further and instead did as she was told.

Within seconds, Sasuke and Naruto were alone together.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke questioned, sounding almost amused.

"I'm here for the interview! For the job." Naruto said lamely. "So you might want to bring back in that Karin woman so she can make notes."

"You want to become the new Chief Networking Officer?" Sasuke clarified.

"Yes. I've always wanted to make something of myself in the business world…" Naruto stopped himself before he went on one of his rants about his life and his goals.

"Do you know our total revenue for last year?"

Naruto grinned. He did know this actually. "Twenty six billion pounds."

"Been researching the company, have you? Well then, you won't mind some more difficult questions so I can gauge whether you're suitable for the job." Sasuke said.

"Of course not." Naruto braced himself. He had prepared an entire speech for why this job was for him and had gone over it with Hinata last night, who had clapped at the end and told him she would him hire in an instant after that. She was being friendly, but it was still a confidence boost. He also knew everything about the net income, the number of people employed by Uchiha Powers and even their current plans for expansion and a building of their own now they were growing so tremendously successful.

Sasuke smiled. It was a twisted, malevolent kind of smirk that made Naruto feel nervous once more. He didn't know whether he had ever actually seen Sasuke smile before. He especially hadn't seen him smile like that. "Did you know that this room is completely soundproof?" He whispered.

Naruto blinked. He had to admit, he wasn't expecting that. "Um, no." He answered, bewildered.

"You could do anything in here and Karin out there wouldn't be able to hear a thing." Sasuke told him. He got up from his chair and walked slowly around the table until he was behind Naruto's own chair. "You could kill someone…" his hands gripped Naruto's shoulders, "…you could scream at the top of your lungs…" his breath tickled Naruto's neck as he bent down to his level, "…you could fight your enemy…" he chuckled under his breath at Naruto's frozen, awkward stature, "…and you could fire someone for doing bad things."

Naruto didn't know what to do. On the one hand, Sasuke was invading his personal space _again_ and he didn't like it one bit. On the other hand, he really wanted this job and he didn't want to antagonize Sasuke. Maybe this was some sort of test to see how he'd react. Weren't businessmen put under huge amounts of pressure and stress? Maybe this was to see how easy he'd crack.

"You know my suit had to be washed three times to get the coffee stains out." Sasuke informed him, dropping the sultry tone of voice and straightening up. "It was not the first day here I had in mind."

"Oh!" Naruto was a little disappointed. He had hoped Sasuke had forgotten about that. Or at least, hadn't made the connection between the new, polished Naruto and the old, haphazard Naruto who almost ruined one of his designer suits. "I did say I was sorry about that."

"Yes, you did." Sasuke muttered.

"Mr Uchiha? Are you going to talk to me about the CNO job?" Naruto wondered aloud, not daring to turn around in his chair to see Sasuke's face.

The dark haired man sighed. "Not particularly. It's been rather tiring listening to pompous upper-class men assure me why they'd be perfect for the job. It's also a little disconcerting to see you looking like that."

"What?" Naruto frowned. What was going on here exactly? Was Sasuke taking him for a fool?

Sasuke span Naruto's chair around so fast Naruto felt dizzy. Now face to face, Sasuke ruffled Naruto's carefully combed over hair until it was its usual scruffy self. His long, slim fingers stroked Naruto's hair once he was satisfied, twirling the short spikes, teasing them so they pointed upwards.

"That's better." Sasuke grinned. "Although you're still in that suit…still, we can take that off."

"Hey!" Naruto leapt up. He had just about had enough. "What the hell do you think you're playing at? I came here for a serious interview. I spent days preparing for this and almost half an hour perfecting that hair! If you agreed to see me just to tease me and mess up my appearance, I think I'll leave now." He couldn't believe it, but tears were springing to his eyes. He turned away so that Sasuke couldn't see them. "I don't…I don't get you at all. One minute you're ignoring me, then you act like you couldn't care less that you're talking to me, then you're touching me and – and acting weird! I just wanted to have a shot at being somebody. Thanks a lot for treating me like some idiot."

With that, he hurried to open the door so that those could be his last words on the matter. But Sasuke grabbed his hand and pulled him back. The Uchiha's strength was surprisingly strong for such a slender, wiry man and there was a steely look in his eyes.

"I wasn't ridiculing you." Sasuke stated. "It seems almost every time we meet you end up yelling in my face." He observed. "I simply preferred your original look. It was far more real and true to whom you are than these arrogant men born from rich families."

"Like yourself, you mean?" Naruto spat.

Sasuke nodded, considering this. "Yes, I suppose like myself. But you're different from us, Naruto. You…interest me more than everyone else."

The moment he said this, Naruto realised their hands were still clasped. He bit his lip anxiously and removed his hand from Sasuke's grasp. His initial rage had faded but he was still furious. What was it about this man that always got him so infuriated?

"Sit down. I will interview you in the correct and professional manner if you so wish." Sasuke sighed. "I should warn you though that you come without any professional background, any experience in this field or any qualifications to your name."

"I know. I suppose I was hoping you would take a liking to me." Naruto mumbled. "Some hope of that now though."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in a similar fashion to how Karin had done so earlier. "Some hope indeed." He echoed. He opened the door that led back out into the ordinary offices on floor ninety six and beckoned Karin in.

"You may take notes now." He told her. His tone sounded on the edge of irritation and Naruto knew he had basically blown it with him about the job.

And yet, Naruto visibly relaxed. With Karin in the room, normality had been restored and he could actually get on with this interview how he had planned to. Sure, he had ruined his chances but at least he could get some experience with proper interviews done here. 'Proper' being the operative word. He certainly didn't want to be alone in a room again with Sasuke. Who knew what could happen next time?

XXX

Sakura jumped up from her seat as soon as Naruto left the lift. "So, how did it go?" She called over eagerly, hurrying towards him. She raised her eyebrows when she saw him. "What happened to your hair?"

"I'm not going to lie, it went awfully." Naruto admitted glumly, his face screwed up in frustration. "What the hell is the matter with that bastard anyway?"

Sakura's face fell. "What happened?"

Naruto hesitated. What was it about Sasuke that made him want to keep their conversations a secret? He shook the urge away. "At first he made the woman taking notes on the interviews leave the room. Then he asked me a weird question and then he got really close to me and…and I felt really strange. Then I got angry and I shouted at him."

"Naruto!" Sakura groaned. "What could he have possibly said that was so insulting?"

"It wasn't anything he directly said…it was the way he was acting. He was acting like I didn't even deserve to be there. He wasn't taking me seriously at all. And then he messed up my hair!"

His friend blinked at him. "Sasuke messed up your hair?" She repeated, incredulous.

"I know it seems weird. Everything he does is weird. He came right up to me, told me the room was soundproof, and then ruffled my hair. Then he told me my suit could come off and I'd look better again…that was when I yelled at him." Naruto told her, realising just how crazy this all sounded as he retold it.

Sakura frowned. "That is…I'm not even sure what to say about that. What happened after you yelled at him?"

"He promised to interview me properly – but I'm pretty sure I pissed him off because after he brought Karin back in he barked all these really hard questions at me and Karin looked like she wanted to burst out laughing at my stupidity." Naruto said with a sigh. "I've blown it. To tell you the truth, though, I'm kind of relieved."

"Relieved?" Sakura echoed. "Why?"

"Sasuke makes me feel uncomfortable. I never know what to do around him. I just don't understand him." Naruto said. "At least now that I don't have the job, I can go back to not seeing him unless he wants some coffee."

"I suppose." Sakura agreed, sounding a little disappointed. "He definitely said you didn't have any chance?"

Naruto shook his head. "Actually, he said I'd find out tomorrow at some point during the day."

Immediately, Sakura perked up. "Well, you never know."

"Since when were you such an optimist?" Naruto asked. "Come on, it's late. Hinata will be wondering how it went. I hate to dash her hopes but I'll have to let her down that it didn't work out."

As they walked out, Sakura placed an arm around his shoulder companionably. "Have a thing for Hinata, do you?" She grinned.

"Unfortunately not." Naruto shrugged. "I doubt she'd ever be interested in me anyway!"

Hidden from Naruto's vision, Sakura rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised." She muttered out of earshot.

By the time they got back, armed with Chinese food, Hinata had drifted off to sleep on the sofa in front of the television. She stirred when they walked into the room, chatting and laughing and making it seem like things had gone well. The lights were switched on and suddenly flooded the room, making Hinata squint and rub her eyes as they adjusted.

"Sorry, Hinata!" Sakura said as soon as she saw her "Were you having a nap? I hope you don't mind, Naruto invited me back for food. We got you some too."

"It – it is no problem. I'm fine now." Hinata mumbled somewhat groggily. "Thank you. How did the interview go? I hope this is celebratory food…?"

"Nope." Naruto told her, sounding a lot more cheery now he was tucking into some chow mein. "It's more of a let's drown my sorrows with food kind of food. Sit down, I'll tell you all about it."

XXX

Sasuke paced up and down his living room, visibly irritated. He couldn't believe it when Uzumaki Naruto had walked into his office, all dressed up and looking so tidy. It felt wrong to him to see the boy like that. Despite purposefully avoiding Naruto all week to try and entice some kind of reaction from him, Sasuke had only ended up angering him further. Naruto probably hadn't even thought about him at all this week. In fact, he was probably relieved that he hadn't seen Sasuke. What was it about this blond man that made Sasuke ruin his best tricks for pulling people?

Ever since he hit puberty, Sasuke knew he was attractive. He stopped and studied himself in the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. His hair was black, longish and silky to touch, spiking up in parts and framing his angular face well. His eyes were wide and dark and stared intensely wherever they looked. He knew they were a popular feature everyone loved. The rest of his face was symmetrical, which was a bonus and his lips looked soft and desirable. His body, while nothing too muscular, he knew was impressive to look at, or so he was told by his many admirers. Every person he had ever attempted to get with he had got with. There was minimal effort involved. And it certainly wasn't because of his personality.

He didn't know why he wanted Naruto. He just knew that he did. From Naruto's reactions, he wondered whether he was getting so angry because he was disgusted, or questioning his own feelings towards Sasuke's invading actions.

It was beginning to get on Sasuke's nerves. He had better things to be getting on with than Naruto. He knew if he just had him once his feelings would disappear. They always did. He was going to have to up his game and make his urges much more obvious. Clearly, Naruto was not going to be the one coming to him. It was interesting new territory but Sasuke liked a challenge. He thought over the other interviews for the day and knew his choice for the new job instantly.

Sasuke sighed and walked into his kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. Obviously distracted, he found himself missing the glass and pouring the water onto the counter instead. "For God's sake," he growled under his breath, wiping the mess away, "I'll be as clumsy as Naruto next."

A thought crossed his mind and he threw it away as soon as it entered. Across from him, on the wall, was a photograph of him and his family, taken years ago. He was only about four or five years old and was sat on his father's shoulders, a huge grin on his face. His brother was stood next to them, his face more composed but a definite smile on his lips. His mother was laughing at something – Sasuke obviously couldn't remember what. It was the only photo of his family together Sasuke had. It actually used to be Itachi's, but when he died everything he owned was passed onto Sasuke and this happened to be in there.

Sasuke studied the photo curiously. When was the last time he had felt that happy? He couldn't remember. Maybe that was the only time.

He was alone in the apartment for once. It wasn't that he didn't like being alone, exactly – in fact, he was very independent and preferred his own company, but having the knowledge that someone else was around allowed him to pretend it was his family, still alive, still with him. Before he could focus on that touchy subject for too long, he decided to sort out the paperwork for the new CNO. He knew the man he had chosen would be best for the job. He could imagine his face when he told him – some surprise, but probably some smugness too.

XXX

The next morning, Naruto found himself arriving for work ten minutes early. He felt a nervous feeling as he walked through the front doors and saw Sakura already there (of course) typing away. He tried to gauge her general demeanour to see whether it was good news for him or not, but she was giving nothing away. Too impatient to hold it off any longer, he marched towards her.

"Sakura!" He called. "How did I get on?"

She glanced upwards, startled, and then chewed her lip. "I'm sorry, Naruto." She said quietly. "The job was given to someone else. Sasuke had a meeting with them this morning."

"Oh." Naruto deflated, visibly. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply to calm himself down. He did not want to do something stupid like get angry or cry right before a day of work. "Were there any reasons?" He asked, curious despite the bad news.

He knew he wasn't going to get it. He yelled at Sasuke, _again_. He wanted to storm out. He had a terrible interview. He had no qualifications. And yet…he was so disappointed. His hopeful personality, his optimism, had set him up for a bigger fall.

Sakura frowned at her computer screen. "That's funny." She murmured.

"What is it?" Naruto wondered.

"Well I just went to reread the statement written on the document and there's a note by your name that wasn't there earlier. It says," there was a pause and her eyebrows rose considerably, "that Mr Uchiha wants to see you in his office 9am sharp." She looked at her watch. "That's only five minutes away…I wonder what that's all about?"

Naruto shrugged. "He probably wants to tell me what a hopeless case I am." He told her glumly. "I'd better get moving, I suppose."

"Hey, you never know." Sakura said. "Maybe you didn't get the CNO job, but there's some other position Sasuke wants for you." She chuckled at her own words, but waved Naruto away when he questioned why she was laughing. "Get going. And come straight down afterwards and tell me about it."

"What about my job?" Naruto asked her. He was being difficult more than anything else; he couldn't believe he would have to face another minute with Sasuke. That man clearly had some kind of issue with him.

Sakura smiled at that. "Naruto, you give people coffee and deliver the occasional message. No one is going to miss you for fifteen minutes. Now off with you. Oh, and Naruto?" She added.

"What?" Naruto said, frustrated.

"I'll have a black coffee from you on your way back." She winked.

Naruto rolled his eyes and decided to pretend not to hear. He entered the lift and pushed the button for floor ninety six. How could it be that within a week this floor held so many surprises for him? Once he reached the floor, he was struck once more by his complete anonymity on it. No one paid any attention to him; they were all far too busy with their own jobs. The only time he had ever been taken notice of was…well, the less said about his first meeting with Sasuke the better. He knocked on Sasuke's door, three sharp knocks that he wondered if Sasuke would even be able to hear.

He remembered Sasuke's comment about his office being soundproof. He found himself wondering what Sasuke had done in there that no one had heard. Naruto blushed just as the door opened. To his surprise, it was Sasuke himself who had answered the door.

"Good, the receptionist passed on the message." He said. "Come in, Naruto."

The moment the door closed behind him, he was in silence, apart from the ticking of a clock. Sasuke was back in his posh leather chair and nodded at Naruto to sit opposite him. It reminded Naruto of the disastrous meeting as he took his seat, wondering what Sasuke was going to say next.

"I suppose I should clarify that you do not have the CNO job." Sasuke told him. Naruto's face showed no flicker of surprise, but there was disappointment. "Good, it seems you're already aware. I'm afraid there was a very competent candidate and it would have been ridiculous to refuse the job just for per – er, so everyone else lost out."

It was the first time Naruto had heard Sasuke stumble on a word. He speculated what he was originally going to say, but couldn't think of anything that didn't confuse him further. Instead of opening his big mouth, which was becoming a habit around Sasuke, he decided to keep quiet and wait for Sasuke to finish whatever he was trying to say.

"That's not to say I didn't see potential in many of the candidates." Sasuke continued, finally. "In fact, I invited one of the women back and recommended her for a job on floor ninety two. I hear three others have other job options in the works and I'm sure the others will do well, what with their outstanding CVs. Which leaves you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. This wasn't going how he thought it would. Then again, when did it ever anymore? He resolved to still keep his mouth shut.

Sasuke folded his arms. "I don't usually do this. But something about you…well. I think you have a lot of wasted potential. I'm aware you have to hand in a week's notice in order to quit your current job. I'm advising you to do that. I want you to start working for me as of next Tuesday."

There was a pause as Naruto digested this. His mouth had fallen open in shock and he hadn't the energy to close it just yet. He stared at Sasuke, who was almost smiling back at him in disbelief. A few minutes ago he thought he was back to making coffees, back to his dull job…and now this? It wasn't the CNO job, but it was something. He had no idea what to say for once.

"Shall I take your silence as agreement?" Sasuke asked wryly.

Naruto shook his head slowly. "Why are you doing this? What would I be doing?"

"You'd be my apprentice. I'd show you how everything works up here; teach you how to think like a businessman. After a trial period of six months, I'll see how you've shaped up. If you impress me, I'll offer you a permanent position here."

"Doing what exactly?"

"This company has never needed one, but if our plans for expansion pan out…we will need an Executive Vice President." Sasuke told him. "I'm not promising you _that_, but even if that job goes to someone else, their position will need to be filled. What do you say, Naruto?"

For the first time, Naruto noticed Sasuke called him by his first name. It was personal; there was no formality with him. Naruto was hesitating. He wasn't sure why. This was more than he had ever anticipated. Sasuke was practically handing him his dreams on a silver platter. But why? The thought niggled at him, begging to be found out. Was it really only because he interested Sasuke? It couldn't be.

"What if I don't impress you?" Naruto probed. "What happens then?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "You go back to your current job, I suppose. Or with your experience, pursue something more worthwhile. It's a win-win situation really. I'm not sure why you're even considering the alternative."

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto finally said. "I spilled coffee over you, I've shouted at you more than once; I had a crap interview yesterday –"

"Actually, some of your answers were inspiring." Sasuke interrupted. "You have a way with words, Naruto. I'm not going to pretend you were perfect, because if you were I'd be offering you the CNO job and I'm not. This is an opportunity to train with the best. I'm doing it because I want to. Are you in or are you out?"

Naruto knew Sasuke was growing impatient now. He inhaled deeply, and then knew what he was going to say. "Mr Uchiha, I'll do it. I'll go and hand my notice in right now."

Sasuke smiled. It was a genuine smile that warmed up his usually cold eyes. Naruto found himself smiling back at him. The raven-haired man walked over and patted Naruto on the back almost fondly. "We can go over the details of the position another time. Over dinner?" Sasuke proposed.

"Oh!" Naruto felt uncomfortable again. Dinner with Sasuke? It was enough spending fifteen minutes with the man. But he did owe him a lot. And they had to talk about his new job. (His new job! Naruto couldn't believe it). "Sure. Whenever is good for you."

"I'll send a car to pick you up from your address at 8pm sharp on Saturday." Sasuke decided abruptly. He nodded at the door, allowing Naruto to leave.

Naruto didn't question how Sasuke knew his address. He knew everyone's details were on the computer system and someone like Sasuke could access whoever he wanted to. He realised Sakura had access to these details aswell. She would know Sasuke's address. Would he be having dinner there? Did he need to bring money? Instead of voicing these concerns, he opted for the easiest. "Saturday?" He blurted out stupidly.

"Is that a problem?" Sasuke asked him.

"N-no. I just thought it would be earlier, and on a work day." Naruto admitted. Nothing was ever normal with Sasuke. "Thank you for this, Mr Uchiha." He added. "I really appreciate this. I will see you on Saturday."

"It's a date." Sasuke grinned. "And call me Sasuke, Naruto."

**Author's Note: **_**My thanks once again to those of you reviewing, following or favouriting. I hope I'm not disappointing any of you. Finally we're seeing some kind of progression with these two. Stay tuned for next week's update! **_


	5. Chapter Five - Betrayal

**Chapter Five: Betrayal**

Even though Naruto wouldn't have a clue what his new job would entail until Saturday it seemed; Sakura had invited everyone round to her apartment for celebratory drinks to congratulate him. No one could believe it when Naruto told them about it. Sakura had barely been able to believe it herself when Naruto first came running out of the lift shouting in joy, incomprehensible until his excitement had died down a little. Then Sakura was just as delighted for him. She organised the evening as quickly as she could and while Choji and Shikamaru had said they couldn't come but sent their congratulations, everyone else was here and having a brilliant time.

Well, apart from Ino who was running late, but as she was a nurse Sakura often assumed she was busy from work or sorting out the florist with some spare time. Loud, happy music was blasting from Sakura's radio and Lee was dancing in the middle of the room, trying but failing to get Gaara to dance with him.

Sai, who was sat on Sakura's large velvet sofa next to Hinata, remarked to her, "Any excuse to get drunk and we're on it like that."

She giggled and inclined her head towards Lee. "He seems drunk already."

Sai shook his head. He looked serious suddenly. "Lee doesn't drink at all, actually."

"Oh." Hinata sensed there was something more to this, but didn't know whether she should pry or not. "Neither do I, really. I'll have the occasional glass of wine but getting drunk isn't really something I find entertaining!"

"You should try it." Sai smiled. Then he quickly changed the subject. "I drew a sketch of you a few days ago. Would you like to see it?"

"A sketch of me?" Hinata gasped. "I would love to see it!"

Sai took out his sketch book and flicked past several pages until he reached the one with Hinata drawn on it. It was her face, sketched roughly with pencil. She was looking straight out of the sketchbook, but her gaze was slightly to the left so it made her seem like she was daydreaming about something. Hinata couldn't believe the sight of her. _Sai has certainly used some artistic licence here_, she thought. She looked beautiful. Her long hair framed her face and fell infinitely down the page, reaching the end of it but seeming to go on forever with careful shading. She had a shy smile and a slight blush to her cheeks. Hinata touched the drawing delicately with her finger as if it wasn't real.

"Do you like it?" Sai asked. Although his face was impassive, it was clear from his tone that he was eager for her opinion and it meant a lot to him.

"I love it." She whispered in response, not taking her eyes off the sketch for a second.

Sai nodded, hearing her. He seemed pleased. "You can keep it if you want." He offered.

"Oh wow…thank you." Hinata murmured. "This means a lot. I can't believe you actually drew this. This is so amazing. You have a true talent there, Sai."

He shrugged at her compliments, but his smile made it clear he relished them. "You're welcome." He said.

Hinata carefully tore the sketch out and put it in her bag with an embarrassed smile of her own.

Across the room, Sakura was sat with Naruto, Temari and Kankuro. They were busy discussing what could possibly happen at Naruto's dinner with Sasuke on Saturday and what he should wear. Kankuro joked he should show up dressed like him, while Temari thought Naruto should wear the suit again. Sakura disagreed with this, but agreed it should be more formal attire. It was making Naruto's head spin.

"I can think about that on the day!" Naruto told them, exasperated. "Let's just be happy tonight and not worry about things." He took a slurp of beer to distract himself from worries about his outfit. It felt strange, like he was actually going on a _date_ or something. His mind travelled to Sasuke's date comment, but that was clearly a joke. Right? Right.

Sakura beamed at him. "I'm so proud of you, Naruto. Didn't I tell you something good would come of this? I knew you could do it. A toast!" She raised her glass and her voice. "Everyone grab a glass and toast to Naruto's success!"

The group all grabbed a glass and raised it high in the air. "To Naruto!" Everyone shouted, then took sips for luck. Hinata found herself with a glass of white wine, enjoying the warm feeling spreading in her stomach. She noticed Lee had downed some water and grabbed Gaara by both hands, spinning him despite the redhead's vocal protests. She smiled as she watched them dance together, wishing for one moment that her and Naruto could be as carefree as them. She sighed to herself but didn't let her smile drop, determined to have a good time.

Naruto stood up, wobbling a little after a few beers. "I just wanted to take the time to thank you all for coming to this thing at such short notice. I really hope I can succeed at this new job and make something of myself. And a thank you to Sakura especially," he turned to the pink-haired woman who was still looking as proud as ever about Naruto, "she convinced me to go for it. Thanks again."

As he sat down with a bump, Kankuro shook his hand. "Well done, mate. You should feel proud of yourself."

"Thanks, Kankuro." Naruto grinned. "Hey, I never asked, how was clubbing for all of you last Friday?"

Temari snorted at that. Kankuro shot her a look and she hid a smirk behind her drink. He shrugged at Naruto, who looked curious now. "It wasn't too exciting, you know. Terrible music, terrible dancers." He perked up suddenly. "Sakura got with someone!"

Naruto turned to his best friend, who was groaning. "Oh God, don't even mention him, Kankuro." Sakura laughed. "I managed to lose him downstairs and he got the message."

"You heartbreaker." Naruto chuckled. "Anything else happen?"

"Kiba and Kankuro had an argument. And Ino and Shikamaru got really drunk." Sakura informed him. She frowned now as she thought about it. "Where is Ino, actually? I'd better give her a ring." She was distracted at that moment, however, as Temari began talking.

"I wouldn't worry about Kiba and Kankuro at least, Sakura." She said. "The last I saw –"

"Temari, would you come and get some snacks from over there with me?" Kankuro interrupted, sounding hassled. "I could really do with some snacks."

His sister smirked again. "I'm good actually. Anyway, as I was saying –"

"Snacks!" Kankuro snapped. He grabbed Temari by the arm and pulled her up and away to the other end of the room where the food table was. He was so forceful he accidentally bumped into Hinata on the way, apologising half-heartedly; though once he was over there he didn't seem interested in eating, more interested in talking animatedly to Temari. He was obviously distressed by something, but Temari seemed more amused than anything else.

Sakura raised her eyebrows. "What was _that_ all about?"

Naruto shrugged. "I'm sure we'll find out eventually. For now, I think I'll have another beer."

It turned out to be a great evening for all. At around ten, as it was a weekday and most people had work in the morning, Sakura decided to call it a night. Kankuro and Temari had left an hour or so earlier anyway. Kankuro hadn't seemed comfortable for the rest of the night. Sai offered to drive Hinata home, which earned a few wolf whistles from Sakura. Naruto agreed to help Sakura tidy up so stayed behind for a little longer. Lee and Gaara were the last to leave, with Lee insisting to help tidy up aswell. After sorting out the mess he and Gaara made, he was finally persuaded to leave it. Gaara thanked them for the good night and then they were gone too.

It had been barely five minutes since they left when the buzzer rang for Sakura's flat. "I bet Lee felt guilty and came back to clean some more," Sakura said to Naruto, who was busy wondering who would dare eat pizza but leave the crust.

To her surprise, it was Ino at the front door. "Ino? You've literally just missed the party. How come you're so late?" Sakura asked.

"I know. I didn't want to come in case…" Ino paused. "Can I come up, please?"

"Sure. It's just Naruto and I cleaning up." Sakura buzzed her in.

When Ino knocked on Sakura's door, Sakura couldn't believe the sight of her. Ino's usually luscious, silky blonde hair was scrapped back into a greasy ponytail and she wasn't wearing any make-up. Her eyes were red, as though she had been crying. Without questioning her friend, Sakura hugged her immediately. They stood like that for a few seconds, Ino grateful for the embrace, before Sakura pulled away and invited her inside.

Naruto dropped the bin bag he was carrying at the sight of Ino. She sat down on Sakura's sofa and was straight away surrounded with Naruto on one side and Sakura on the other side of her. Sakura's arm slid around Ino's shoulders in a comforting fashion.

"What's happened, Ino?" Sakura murmured gently.

Naruto, sensing this might be a subject just for the two close friends, got up. "Can I get you anything, Ino? A cup of tea? Some chocolate?"

Ino sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry. A cup of tea would be lovely, Naruto. I can't have any chocolate though. It reminds me of…of Choji!" At the mention of his name, she burst into tears.

Sakura pulled her closer as Naruto hurried to boil the kettle. "Are you and Choji okay?" Sakura asked her quietly. "Have you had an argument?"

"It's far worse than some stupid argument." Ino whispered. "I slept with someone else."

"What?" Sakura yelped. She regretted her outburst immediately, but she couldn't help it. Ino had cheated on Choji? She couldn't believe it. They had been so happy together. They had been together for four years. What could have possibly happened for Ino to do this? "Oh Ino…" Sakura didn't know what to say.

"It gets worse, Sakura." Ino told her, unable to control her sobs.

How could it possibly get any worse? Sakura didn't want to know, but she knew she had to help Ino through this. "What is it?"

"I…oh God." Ino couldn't bear to say it, but she had to tell someone. She had to sort out the mess that had happened before it tore her apart. "I slept with Shikamaru."

There was a crashing sound just a few metres away from Sakura's kitchen and Naruto emerged, holding a mug in one hand and its broken off handle in the other. "I'm sorry, Sakura. I dropped your mug." He said. "I can't believe it. Ino, what the hell?" He couldn't help his sudden anger but tried to contain it. Choji was one of his best friends. He was one of the first people to actually treat Naruto like a friend, after Sakura.

Naruto didn't like remembering the past, but being bullied as a kid stuck by him. It wasn't until secondary school he managed to make friends and Sakura, Choji and Shikamaru were there for him throughout the school years and beyond them. Ino had initially started off as a girl who argued with Sakura constantly over boyfriends. It always confused Naruto that she was friends with Choji and Shikamaru, but she was, and eventually she became friends with him and Sakura too. How could Ino and Shikamaru have done this to their best friend?

Ino was still crying, buried in Sakura's chest as she tried to calm herself down. Sakura glared at Naruto, clearly furious with him for either breaking one of her mugs or shouting at Ino. Naruto guessed it was the latter. The cup of tea didn't seem so important anymore and after disposing of the broken mug, Naruto resumed his place next to Ino.

"Ino, tell us what happened. Maybe we can sort this out." Sakura soothed, trying her best to sound strong and comforting. She hesitated before asking, "Does Choji know?"

There was an even more desperate sounding sob, and then Ino sat up straight and wiped her eyes again. "He doesn't know. How can I bear to tell him? What do I say?"

"When did it happen?" Naruto asked slowly, as though he was talking to someone who didn't understand English. This earned him another glare from Sakura, but he ignored her.

"It happened after Friday night. Shikamaru and I got very drunk at the club…I was mad at Choji about something…Shikamaru said I could crash at his like Choji has done before whenever we've argued…" Ino swallowed and took a deep breath to steady herself. "I'm not trying to make excuses for us. But we w_ere_ unbelievably drunk. And I was upset. And Shikamaru was trying to make me feel better and then he gave me a hug and...and…we ended up...kissing."

"Stop right there!" Naruto said. "I can't bear it." Then, "Why _didn't_ you stop right there?"

Ino sniffed. "If only we had. When I woke up the following morning, I couldn't believe it. I felt physically sick. Shikamaru was still asleep…so I ran."

"Oh, Ino." Sakura sighed. "Have you and Shikamaru spoken since…it happened?"

She nodded. "I couldn't face Choji. I got all the way to our front door and then I bottled it. I decided to let him think I was still mad at him about last night. I went to my florist and worked there all day and thankfully Choji can be just as stubborn as me because he didn't come to see me. Then I went out by myself for a long walk." Her eyes were brimming with tears once more. "By the time I got home, Choji was asleep. I slept on the sofa and then I hurried out the next morning. I went to work and when I was on my way back I went to see Shikamaru."

"What did he say?" That was Naruto. He was in shock with all of this.

"That we should tell Choji. That he was feeling awful. I told him not to. I said that I had to do it. He took a lot of persuading but promised he wouldn't say a word as long as I told Choji as soon as possible. I spent hours at work yesterday trying to think of the best way possible. I worked overtime so Choji would be asleep again by the time I got back. And then today…I thought he and Shikamaru might be at the party. So I didn't come. I know I can't keep avoiding him but God…I can't break his heart, Sakura, I just can't." The last sentence came out in a hopeless squeal.

"You're going to have to." Naruto said sharply. "You can't hide this from him forever, Ino. I'm certainly not going to let you. Choji and Shikamaru didn't come to the party this evening. Shikamaru, because he's probably hiding in shame. Choji, because he's probably wondering what the hell he has done wrong that you're avoiding him like this. Honestly, Ino, one argument and you end up in his best friend's bed? _Your_ best friend's bed?"

Ino's eyes flashed angrily at him. "You don't know what we were arguing about. It certainly wasn't one argument. It's been going on for months…it's been wearing me down. I didn't mean for this to happen, believe it or not." Then she deflated and whimpered, "What should I say to him?"

"The truth." Sakura answered. "You can stay here for tonight, then in the morning you have to go straight home and tell him. You should probably tell Shikamaru what you're planning to do aswell. Maybe he should be there."

"I will." Ino sighed. "Thank you, Sakura. I just can't believe what we've done. What I've done. Choji is never going to forgive us, is he? I've ruined the one good relationship in my life."

Sakura pulled her in closer for a hug. "I'm sure you can sort this out. It may take a long time, but you can do it."

Naruto, to Ino and Sakura's surprise, wrapped his arms around both of them and joined in the embrace. "I'm not happy with you, Ino, but you're going to face up to your problem. I really hope you sort this." He explained quietly.

They remained like that for a minute, and then Naruto stood up and looked around awkwardly. The room was somewhat tidier, though there were still some old food and beer bottles littered about. Sakura sensed Naruto's indecision about whether to leave or tidy up some more and helped him out.

"I'll do the rest of that in the morning." She told him. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

He nodded at her. "See you tomorrow." He paused at the doorway, wondering whether he should say anything else to the weeping Ino. "Ino?" He called.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I snapped at you. This is just going to take a while for my head to get used to." He said. "You're still my friend." He added, meaning every word. "Let me know how it goes tomorrow, won't you?"

"I will." Ino replied. She tried to smile and failed. "Thank you, Naruto."

With that, Naruto left Sakura's apartment and began the long journey home. Sakura lived in the opposite direction to him, so he had to walk past his work building. He reached it after about twenty minutes and stopped to stare up at floor ninety six. There was a light on up there. It looked like it was coming from Sasuke's office. What was he doing there at such a late hour? He must have a key of his own to the building given to him by the janitor. Naruto let himself fantasize about working up there next week as a real, potential businessman, rather the guy who gives them coffee.

As if to hurry him home, the first few droplets of rain began to fall. It would be another ten minutes before the next bus from here to Naruto's street, so he decided to walk home. By the time he reached the large house that was home to six flats, one of them himself and Hinata's, it was pouring down and he was soaked to the bone.

He tried not to think about Ino and Choji and Shikamaru. What a mess that was. He could only imagine the horror on Choji's face when Ino told him. It was about to get very awkward for everyone. He wondered how everyone would react when they found out. He also wondered what it was Choji and Ino had been arguing about for months. Surely it couldn't be that bad. It had to have been, though. He knew, deep down, Ino wouldn't have cheated on Choji unless she was desperately unhappy. But that still didn't make it any better. What would happen to their relationship? What would happen to Choji and Shikamaru's friendship? He could only wait and see.

The flat was in darkness, so Hinata must have already gone to bed. Naruto found himself wide awake. Rather than attempt sleep and lie awake for hours, he sat in front of his computer and researched business apprenticeships and what happened in them.

There had never been one for Uchiha Powers before. They prided themselves on hiring the best of the best, people with plenty of experience and fantastic qualifications. Naruto didn't know whether to feel scared or happy by that fact. Sasuke had clearly taken a huge chance on him. Naruto still wasn't sure why, but for the first time, he found himself liking Uchiha Sasuke just a little bit.

By the time he was eventually tired enough to sleep, he was surprised to find a smile on his face despite everything.

XXX

Naruto arrived, for the second day in a row, early. He wanted to talk to Sakura about the night before. While he had had a peaceful night's sleep, he had woken up feeling rather distressed about it all. Would Ino truly confess to Choji today? He had to find out what was going on.

"Sakura," he said, a little breathless from hurrying inside, "is she going to do it? Did anything happen after I left? Is she okay?"

She bit her lip. "I left her in my apartment with some coffee and pancakes to give her some energy for the day. She was still really upset, but that's to be expected, I suppose. It looks like she's definitely going to tell him today. I told her to call my mobile as soon as she could to let me know how it went."

"Man," Naruto muttered. "I am still in disbelief about it all, you know? What do you reckon Choji is going to do?"

"No idea." Sakura replied. "I've been wondering that myself. Would he really end it after four years together? I'd like to think he'd forgive her, but…" She paused as she thought about the whole situation. "…I doubt I could forgive someone if they cheated on me."

"Me neither." Naruto agreed. "Which kind of puts the whole thing on even more of a downer, doesn't it? They're going to break up."

"Well, we don't know that for sure yet." said Sakura, trying to remain somewhat optimistic. Her telephone on her desk rang and even though she knew Ino didn't have this number, she picked it up eagerly. "Hello, Haruno Sakura from front desk speaking. Please let me know to whom you wish to speak and I will forward the call." She gabbled quickly.

Naruto waited hopefully. Sakura shook her head and him and carried on talking, "Thank you. Connecting you though to Ms Thompson on floor twenty seven right now." She pressed a button on the telephone and then hung up. "Well, Ino doesn't even have this number." She told Naruto. "It would have been a shock if that was her, ringing a number she doesn't even know before nine a.m."

"Let me know if she does call before lunch." Naruto said.

"No problem. Now enjoy one of your last few days as 'that guy who delivers coffee'," Sakura grinned. "I can't believe you are actually going to be working up there next week. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji have kind of overshadowed that now, huh? Thank goodness I had the party yesterday!"

Naruto nodded. "I know. I've barely given my new apprenticeship a thought…" That was a lie. Even with everything going on it hadn't left Naruto's mind this morning. He wondered whether he would see Sasuke today. Part of him actually hoped so, which was a strange new feeling.

He left Sakura just as her phone rang again, but it was an angry client from some meeting up on the thirtieth floor, not Ino. As he took orders from everyone on floor eighty six, he felt himself feeling somewhat sad at the thought of this being the last week he would do this. He had done it for so long now it had become a part of him. He was the coffee boy. The "oi, you boy, I want decaf" or rarely "excuse me, can I have a cup of coffee please", the guy who was non-existent unless someone wanted something from him. He certainly wouldn't miss the job (he made enough cups of tea and coffee at home) but he was grateful for it at the same time. Without working here, he never would have had this opportunity.

By the time he reached floor ninety six, armed with a tray of seventeen cups of coffee, two cups of tea and six chocolate digestives, he was expecting to run into Sasuke as he hadn't seen him yet. However, his office door was closed and it was clear some kind of meeting was going on in there, because the people who had desks near the door were keeping their noise down. It made Naruto think of Sasuke's soundproof comment when he went for the interview. Clearly it only worked one way. It was a way that worked to Sasuke's advantage.

The last coffee he delivered was going to a Mr Hozuki, whose assistant had ordered it for him. Naruto spotted the assistant going into one of the other, smaller offices on the opposite side of the floor from Sasuke's huge one. He reached the door and read the sign attached to it: SUIGETSU HOZUKI, CHIEF NETWORKING OFFICER. So this was the man who had gotten the CNO job. Naruto knocked.

The door opened and Naruto was greeted to a small office with a big desk, with one chair on one side and two chairs on the other. Suigetsu was sat on the lone chair, facing Naruto as he came inside. There was a laptop open on the desk, a huge notebook, some pens and strangely a model of a shark. To the left was a fish tank full of colourful fish. It looked brand new. Did Suigetsu pay for that himself? Naruto supposed he must have done. The Chief Networking Officer looked a little fishy himself. He had white hair, but he looked around Naruto's age so it was clearly dyed. He also had pointy teeth that were currently bared into a smile.

"Can I help you?" He asked. His voice was surprisingly syrupy and warm. Then he noticed Naruto's apron he was forced to wear once he started work and the lone cup of coffee on the tray. "Oh, you brought my coffee. Thanks, kid." He nodded at his assistant, a tall, broad man with ginger hair who was standing awkwardly to the side. "Juugo, could you pass that here?"

The man complied, roughly grabbing the coffee and putting it on Suigetsu's desk. It threatened to spill over, but managed to contain itself.

"What's your name, kid?" Suigetsu asked.

Naruto didn't appreciate the patronising tone, but at least offering his name would stamp out the beginning of an awful nickname. "Naruto."

"Great. So, Naruto, I'm kinda busy…I'll know who to call when I need another cup of coffee though." Suigetsu grinned at him.

_What an ass_. Naruto thought. But he didn't rise to the occasion, for once. He didn't want to make a habit of ruining first days on the job on this floor. So he simply ignored him and left. He made one last glance at Sasuke's office, but the door was still closed with no sign of anyone leaving any time soon.

What was happening to him? Since when did he want to see Sasuke? Yes, he had granted him this opportunity…but he was still unpredictable and he had been mean that first time they saw each other. Although, Naruto had just accidentally poured hot coffee over him.

He went back down to floor eighty six and found himself lumbered with even more coffee orders. Didn't these people worry about the amount of caffeine in their bodies? Clearly not. No matter. He wouldn't be doing this for much longer anyway. All thanks to Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto smiled to himself.

**Author's Note: **_**My thanks go out to everyone interested in this story. I love and respond to every review I get and really appreciate them, so please keep them coming. Finally the side stories are beginning to appear (poor Choji, although I hope you don't all hate Ino and Shikamaru now!), but the main focus will always be Naruto and Sasuke. Until next week!**_


	6. Chapter Six - Dealing With It

**Chapter Six: Dealing With It**

Ino paced up and down the living room of her home, struggling to put into words what she was about to say to her long-term boyfriend, who was sitting on the sofa looking relatively calm. Of course he was. It took a lot to truly anger Choji – comments about his weight could do it, or comments about Ino that weren't too friendly – but Ino knew this would do it. She was about to break him and it was her fault entirely. She sat down on the coffee table, facing Choji and taking his hands in her own. Tears threatened once again to fall but she controlled herself long enough to talk.

"I have to tell you something. It's serious. And I'm so sorry." She whimpered. She had tried to sound strong and in control but failed miserably. Choji frowned at that, obviously sensing that she wasn't just going to argue with him some more but it was actually a lot more serious than he first thought.

He squeezed her hands. "What is it?" He asked. His voice wobbled a little. Already, he was thinking of worst case scenarios in his head. Ino looked awful. He never thought that his beautiful girlfriend could look less than perfect but it was true. She hadn't brushed her hair, she had no make-up on and her eyes were red raw. Her hands felt rough and sore, as though she had been wringing them in some kind of desperation.

She gave a great big sigh, then it all came out in a rush, as though if she said it quic enough it could be forgotten easier. "After clubbing on Friday night I slept with Shikamaru. It only happened the one time. He wanted to tell you straight away but I couldn't bear it. We were drunk, ridiculously drunk, and I was sad about…well, you know. Oh, Choji, what have I done? Can you ever forgive me?" She could no longer stop herself from crying and her emotions sank to even lower depths as Choji removed his hands from hers like he'd been scalded. "Please understand that we never meant it to happen. It was a stupid mistake and –"

"Stop talking." Choji interrupted, almost softly. "You and Shikamaru had sex?"

Ino nodded. She hated herself. She hated seeing the pure bewilderment on Choji's face as he tried to figure out whether he knew his girlfriend at all.

Choji stood up. "I can't see you right now. I need time to think."

"Wait, please!" Ino grabbed Choji's arm just as he was about leave the room. "You have every right to break up with me, but we've been together for so long. You know how much I love you. That's basically what we've been arguing about for the past year. I'll do anything to make this up to you."

"Do you have a time machine?" Choji muttered, before shaking his arm away from Ino's grasp. "Usually I would go to Shikamaru's now to ask him for some help. I can't do that anymore. I'll be at Naruto's. I'll call you when I'm ready to talk."

With that, he went into their bedroom. After five minutes, he emerged with a bag. He paused as he saw Ino weeping, her head touching her knees. His hand itched to comfort her, to pat her on the back. Then his brain helped him out by picturing her and Shikamaru together. Without a word he left, slamming the door behind him to let her know he'd gone.

Ino remained how she was for a long time. Then she took out her mobile and called Choji. It rang for a few seconds before she was sent to voicemail. He had ignored her. She tried to speak to him anyway, leaving him a tearful message. "I won't let this break us up. I can't. I love you so much. We need to talk about this properly. Please call me back." As she clicked to end the call, the full force of what had happened hit her. She was at a loss of what to do. All she could do was wait and hope that Choji could find it in himself to forgive her.

Would she forgive him if he slept with someone? If he slept with Sakura? Every fibre of her being screamed that she would forgive him instantly and understand, but she knew she was just trying to make herself feel better. She wouldn't forgive him. Not straight away, anyway. It would take a long, long time, if at all.

She called Sakura next. She had promised to do so straight away. It was only just gone eleven in the morning. Sakura would still be at work. But she had said to call her no matter the time, so she did. Sakura picked up almost immediately.

"Ino? What's happened? Is everything okay?" She practically shrieked.

"He's packed a bag and gone to Naruto's. Is Naruto even there? He'll be so humiliated if he has to come back for a few hours." Ino mumbled.

"Oh God. Has he broken up with you? I'll get Naruto to go back to his for his lunch break to let Choji in…"

"He hasn't broken up with me, but he said he couldn't look at me. He said he'll call me." Ino told her. She sounded very whispery and broken. A sliver of panic entered her tone of voice. "Or was that breaking up with me? I don't know."

"I'm coming over after work, okay? You don't have to go through this alone." Sakura told her firmly. "I'll leave as early as I can."

"Why are you doing this for me?" Ino asked. "It's my fault this happened." She paused, before continuing reluctantly. "I think part of me wanted something to happen at the club. Not with Shikamaru – God, I still can't believe that part of it. Not cheating on Choji either. I just wanted a guy to hit on me and make me feel wanted."

Sakura didn't speak for a minute. Ino was starting to wonder whether she'd given up on her too and had hung up, but then her friend cleared her throat loudly. "I'm supporting you because I'm your friend. Obviously there are some things you aren't telling me about the relationship if you felt you had to be hit on by a stranger to feel wanted. I can't promise to make everything better but I'll be there through everything."

"Thank you so much." Ino meant every word. She had never felt so grateful to the pink-haired woman who had initially started off as her rival.

When she thought back to her school years, she knew they were more carefree and easy than most. She was top of her class every year, but she wasn't teased for it. Puberty had been a blessing for her, blossoming her into a beautiful teenager whose looks were envied. And yet, she wasn't disliked. In fact, if anything her popularity grew as the years went by. Shikamaru and Choji were her friends as they were in all the same classes. She had a few girlfriends but no one special. Then Sakura moved up into the top set and suddenly the girl was everywhere.

Despite Ino's best efforts to get along with her, Sakura was quite a guarded person. She was friendly enough, but didn't let people get too close to her. Still, Ino wasn't deterred. In fact, Ino even invited her round once for a makeover, which went down pretty well until she accidentally insulted Sakura but suggesting she should cut her hair into a fringe to cover her large forehead. Then they discovered they had the same taste in men and it all went downhill from there.

They remained hostile towards one another for the remainder of their school years and lost contact when they both went to university. They both trained to be nurses, but in different places and then Sakura decided not to be a nurse when she got offered her current job. It was only because Naruto had stayed in touch with Shikamaru and Choji that they met again at all. Instead of arguing as they had done in the past, they found they got on with each other surprisingly well. After a while, Ino considered Sakura her best friend. She hoped it was vice versa.

"Look, Ino, I've got to go. Some people have just come in saying something about – yes, sir, if you just give me a second, I'm on the phone – Ino, are you there?"

"Sorry, I was miles away." Ino murmured. Why did it have to be so complicated suddenly? "I'll see you later. Thanks again."

"You're welcome." There was a click, and then Sakura was gone. Ino stared at her mobile, her fingers taking her to Choji's place in her list of contacts. She called him again. This time, there was no ringing at all. He had switched his phone off.

Did he hate her? It was what she feared the most. She called someone else, the person she would turn to if she needed advice Choji or Sakura couldn't give, if she wanted a game of chess, a place to sit and do nothing and just watch the clouds fly past.

"Ino." Shikamaru said as soon as he answered. "You've told him?"

"Yes. He's going to Naruto's to stay there. Maybe you should…I don't know. Maybe we should go see him together."

Shikamaru was silent. Ino knew he was thinking of the best solution. "He'll be too angry. We need him to calm down at least somewhat before we do anything. Give him a couple of days. I'll call him later and see if I can talk to him, but I won't go and see him yet unless he wants me to." Then, "I can't believe I was so stupid."

"Me neither." But she knew Shikamaru would be personally offended by his mistake as an attack on his intelligence. He was, quite simply, a genius who was too lazy to do anything with his brains. It did seem odd for him to act purely on impulse. This did show that he too was prone to dumb mistakes. "We'll sort this, right?" She said, sounding about as confident as she felt, which was about as far from confident as a person could get without hiding within themselves.

Again, it took a short while for Shikamaru to answer. "It seems unlikely." He stated. "I have to go. I've done nothing but think about this for the past few days and it's tearing me apart. Tell me if Choji says anything more to you."

"I will." Ino promised, just as Shikamaru hung up. She wondered if he even heard her say that.

There was nothing left for her to do now but wait. Wait for Sakura to come over. Wait for Choji to change his mind and come back. Wait for Shikamaru to tell her he's invented a time machine. Wait for a miracle. Any of those but the former certainly would be a miracle. She tried one last time to call Choji. His phone was still switched off.

XXX

Naruto had hurried back to his flat, finding a shell-shocked Choji sitting on the doorstep of the main building. As if to taunt him during what had to have been one of the worst days of his life, the weather was brilliant. There was a cool breeze and the sun was shining and right across the road was a park where children and their parents were laughing and playing. Choji wasn't watching the happy scene not one hundred metres from him though. His eyes were on the ground until he sensed someone approaching, and the relief in his eyes when he saw it was Naruto was immense.

"In my rush I forget you and Hinata would be at work." He said as Naruto let him in. "I don't really know what I'm doing."

They entered the lift and Naruto pressed the button for his floor. "How are you holding up?" He asked.

Choji sighed. "I don't think I've _ever_ felt this bad, Naruto. Not even when I was bullied at school did I feel as bad as this. I can't believe them. Both of them. Ino and Shikamaru." He clenched his fists. "Fuck!" He shouted.

Naruto had never seen Choji like this before. Once they got into his flat, he sat Choji down and made him some food. "You can stay here as long as you need to." Naruto told him. "I have to leave in twenty minutes but obviously I'll be back later. And Hinata. Do you mind if Hinata knows what's going on?"

Choji shook his head. "Tell her. She's only going to wonder. Thanks for this, Naruto. And for the food." The sadness hadn't affected his appetite; if anything it had increased. He wolfed down the pasta Naruto had made for him and then accepted the bag of crisps Naruto offered next.

They spoke about Naruto's apprenticeship with Sasuke. Choji apologised for missing the party, but he didn't say anymore on why he had. They didn't talk about Ino and Shikamaru after Choji's outburst. Naruto didn't know whether or not to just start talking about it and hope Choji would join in. He left it for now, promising to himself that he would talk to his friend properly later.

"You're free to do what you want here, but I wouldn't leave if I were you because Hinata won't be home till four or five and she'll likely get here before me today. Help yourself to any food in the fridge. Hinata usually cooks but if you're up to it you can if you want to. That door over there is Hinata's room, so don't go in there, but otherwise do what you like. I'll be back later and we can talk then about this. Okay?"

"Okay." Choji replied.

Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "We can get through this. I'm always going to be here for you." With that heartfelt message, he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "You'll be laughing with me soon enough."

Choji didn't quite smile, but he acknowledged Naruto's attempt to lighten the mood with a nod. Once he was left alone in Naruto and Hinata's flat, he finally allowed himself to cry.

XXX

Finally, Saturday had arrived. With everything that had been going on this week with Choji, Shikamaru and Ino, it had felt like weeks had flown by before it got to this day. Choji had been staying with Naruto and Hinata for a few days now, showing no signs of going back to Ino or even responding to her many phone calls. Shikamaru, too, had tried calling him, though a lot less than Ino had. Hinata had tried her best to lighten the mood, telling anecdotes of her days at work of children misbehaving and her new assistant's incompetence at controlling the classes. Sakura kept Naruto updated on how Ino was, but it was clear that there was something of a divide between their group of friends now. No one was really sure how to deal with it, but there had been many visitors offering their support to Choji without really contributing anything.

Naruto was awake surprisingly early for him, even though he knew it wasn't until far later on in the evening the car would arrive. He wondered again where it would be taking him. There was a hugely expensive posh new restaurant that had opened up in town recently and it seemed anyone who was anyone went there, but Naruto probably couldn't even afford a starter there. Sasuke's house? That thought piqued his curiosity. What kind of place would Sasuke have? He doubted it would be a tiny flat in the rundown area of the city like this one.

He emerged from his room and was greeted with the smell of croissants and pancakes and syrup. It was not a bad start to a morning indeed. Choji was in the kitchen, flipping a pancake in a frying pan. The relief Naruto felt was tremendous. He was cooking again. Choji hadn't gone to his restaurant to work the whole time he had stayed here, instead calling in sick. To see him making something was a promising step forward, as it had been Hinata cooking meals for the three of them with Naruto attempting to help.

"This smells fantastic, Choji!" Naruto grinned. "Is there any left for me?"

Choji nodded. "I've already had mine with Hinata. This is for you." He put a plate of pancakes and a plate of croissants in front of him. "If you can't finish it, I'll finish it for you."

"Thanks!" Naruto grabbed a croissant and stuffed most of it in his mouth. "Where's Hinata?" He said through his mouthful, spraying crumbs across the table.

"Out for a run." Choji answered, starting to wash up the dishes. "Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck for later today."

Naruto smiled at that. "Thanks. I don't know what is going to happen. I'm really looking forward to finding out though." And he was. Despite his nerves, and his inhibitions about Sasuke, he really wanted to know what he would be doing for the next six months. He was excited for the evening. He only hoped he wouldn't make a fool of himself, which was a common occurrence around Sasuke.

Sasuke. Could he really bring himself to call him that out loud? In his head it was easy enough – in fact, it seemed natural, like he'd known him for years. But in person Sasuke was unpredictable, mysterious and infuriating. Mr Uchiha suited him far better. But Sasuke had asked him to call him Sasuke. So he would, no matter how strange it seemed. The fact that he was on first name terms with the CEO of Uchiha Powers made him laugh incredulously. The world had gone mad.

"What are you laughing about?" Choji asked, sounding happier than he had been lately.

"I was just thinking about Sasuke…how he asked me to call him by his first name. It's mental, isn't it?" Naruto chuckled.

Choji raised an eyebrow. "He clearly likes you a lot."

"No he doesn't, he –" Naruto stopped. Sasuke _liked_ him. Despite everything. Why else would he do this for Naruto? The world had gotten even crazier. Why on earth did Sasuke like him? It didn't make any sense. But it had to be true. Somehow, Naruto had gotten in the man good books. Which seemed like a tricky task to do. In fact, the more thought about it, the more he wondered whether Sasuke actually had any friends. The thought actually made Naruto pity him, just a little bit. Was he lonely?

Well, maybe Naruto could like him too. Maybe he already did. He got to be an apprentice on floor ninety six; that was unheard of. He never did have to repay Sasuke for ruining his suit. Even when he swore at him, or shouted at him, Sasuke barely batted an eyelid.

"Wow, he likes me." Naruto said eventually. "Even with all this, for some reason I still thought he hated me."

"Maybe he never hated you at all." Choji said, shrugging.

"No…I'm pretty sure he hated me when I accidentally covered him in coffee on his first day." Naruto laughed. He finished off the last of the pancakes and offered the last croissant to Choji. "I'm stuffed. You can have that. Thanks again. It was delicious. You should make breakfast every day! Hinata's good and all, but you're a chef."

"Thanks," said Choji, taking it and eating it in three large bites. He licked his lips once he was finished. "I think I might call Ino and Shikamaru tomorrow."

Naruto blinked, surprised at the sudden change in topic. "What's made you say that?"

"I need to talk to them and just…figure all of this out. Plus, they keep calling me and I can't ignore them forever." He sighed. "I wish I could forget about it."

"Do you want me to be here with you? You can invite them round here and –"

"Thanks, Naruto, but I'm going to talk to them both privately back home." Choji interrupted softly. "I'll let you know what happens. It might not be tomorrow, it might be the day after. But it will be sooner rather than later."

"Well…okay." Naruto conceded, just as the front door opened and Hinata walked in, a little breathless and wearing her jogging gear.

Despite her face being red and sweaty and her hair tied messily into a bun, when she smiled at the two of them she still radiated an innocent beauty. She didn't want to tell them she had actually been outside for five minutes, overhearing Naruto's comment about her breakfast making skills and hoping they would talk about her some more. Of course, they didn't.

"Good morning, Naruto." She said, trying to muster as much cheerfulness as she could in that sentence. "Are you nervous about this evening? Do you want me to iron Neji's suit for you?"

Naruto shook his head. "Thanks, Hinata, but I'm just going to dress casually for tonight." He didn't want to say it was because Sasuke didn't like Naruto in a suit, because he didn't want to admit to himself that was why he wasn't wearing it.

Hinata nodded, a little disappointed. "No problem. Whatever you want, Naruto."

She told them she was having a shower and as she shut the bathroom door behind herself, she exhaled in frustration. She had to stop being so sensitive about everything. She had to stop feeling like this about Naruto, but she had no idea how to which didn't involve getting far away from her. She couldn't bear that. She released her hair from its bun and as it tumbled around her shoulders she wished she could set herself free like that. At least she could talk to him for more than five minutes without getting embarrassed and beginning to stutter now. That had to be an improvement, right?

Right. It didn't stop her fantasizing about Naruto whilst in the shower though.

XXX

It was indeed at eight in the evening exactly that the chauffeur Sasuke had arranged buzzed the intercom for Naruto and Hinata's flat. Naruto was sat in the living area nervously waiting, surprisingly on time. He had in fact been ready for thirty minutes, just in case the chauffeur was early for some reason. He was wearing his favourite orange and black jumpsuit that he wore for everyday situations, but looking at himself now in the full-length mirror by the door, he wondered if it was a little _too_ casual. If Sasuke didn't like this outfit…he couldn't win! Naruto frowned. Why did he care so much what Sasuke thought about his clothes?

"I'll be right down." He told the chauffeur, hoping he didn't sound too scared. It was a mixture of nerves and excitement in his stomach and he was confused about the feeling. Choji and Hinata were stood behind him looking – hopeful, was the word.

Choji gave Naruto a quick hug, but a meaningful one. "Thanks for these past few days, Naruto." He murmured so Hinata couldn't hear. "You've been a true friend to me. I'm going to do it tomorrow. I've decided to face the problem with the two of them." At this, he raised his voice and found himself smiling, which shocked both himself and Naruto. "I hope tonight goes well."

"Thanks, Choji…I'll be there for you tomorrow, if you need me." Naruto nodded. He threw a wink at Hinata, who visibly reddened and gasped. "Don't wait up for me, I have no idea how long I'll be."

"H-have f-fun, Naruto." Hinata spluttered. She immediately regretted opening her mouth and grew more embarrassed, earning her a curious look from Choji.

Naruto remained happily oblivious, and at another buzz on the intercom from the chauffeur, he gave them both a final wave and was out the door. Once he was in the lift going down, he remembered the time he and Sasuke were alone together in the lift at work. That had to have been the strangest thing that had happened between them. All to learn Naruto's name. That didn't make any sense at all.

"Sorry, I was saying goodbye to my friends," he burbled at the chauffeur, who looked bored to say the least. He was tall, with brown hair and looked in his late thirties. "Hey, where are we going?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"To Mr Uchiha's residence. It is a short journey from here, sir." The chauffeur replied. He opened the door the limo in front of them. It was a sleek, black limo that oozed fortune. Naruto couldn't believe he was going to be sitting in one and as he got in he gasped at the leather upholstery and mini-bar inside. There was a glass of champagne poured ready for him and he took a cautious sip.

"This is crazy." He said. Then he registered what the chauffeur told him. "Whoa. We're going to Sasuke's house?"

"Not the Uchiha mansion, Mr Uchiha's personal apartment nearer to Uchiha Powers." The chauffeur said. "Please enjoy the champagne and help yourself to anything there." He started driving and began to shut the window between himself and Naruto, but Naruto stopped him.

"I can't believe there is some kind of privacy window in here, but don't put it up! I want to talk to you. What's your name?"

"My name?" The chauffeur repeated, incredulous.

"Yes! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, but call me Naruto." Naruto grinned. "I can't believe Sasuke went to all this trouble…" He took another sip of the champagne, amazed by it all.

"I'm Yamato." He said, smiling slightly. "Yes, Mr Uchiha insisted on the limousine, even though I drive him around in a far less elaborate car."

"This is awesome." Naruto sighed. Exactly how rich was the Uchiha fortune? He couldn't guess it.

The two chatted amicably for the whole journey and it was a tiny disappointment for Naruto to have to step out of the limo when they reached the apartment building Sasuke lived in. It looked very expensive to live there – there were security guards outside and Yamato had to explain to them who Naruto was. By the time Naruto reached Sasuke's front door, he was feeling nervous again.

Yamato knocked four times, two short taps and two heavy ones. Naruto guessed it was so Sasuke knew who it was knocking. At this, however, Yamato turned to leave. "Well, this is where I leave you. I'm sure I'll see you again though, Naruto."

"So it's just me and Sasuke tonight?" Naruto yelped. It wasn't like he hadn't been expecting this, because he had, but the sudden realisation it was happening _now_…

Yamato seemed to laughing at something privately to himself. "You'll be fine. It was nice meeting you."

"You too." Naruto said, chewing his lip anxiously.

As Yamato vanished into the lift, the door opened and Naruto was face to face with Sasuke once more.

"Naruto." Sasuke murmured, eyeing him up and down so slowly Naruto felt even more uncomfortable. "Come in."

**Author's Note: **_**Thanks again for the reviews guys, please keep them coming so I know people are interested in this. :) See you next week, when Sasuke and Naruto finally have their first 'date'…**_


	7. Chapter Seven - Two's Company

**Chapter Seven: Two's Company**

Shikamaru was surprised when Temari agreed to go for a drink with him. He had asked her out a few times before and was always refused, with Temari insisting they were better off as friends. He didn't know whether she had heard about what had happened last week yet and that was why she was coming out now, to talk about that with him. He knew that he needed a distraction. He had spent the past week trying to figure out how he was going to talk to Choji and failed miserably at coming up with some sort of excuse. He knew, deep, down, that was because there wasn't one. He had made a huge mistake, plain and simple.

They were sat in a dark, secluded corner of the group's favourite bar. Shikamaru had to admit he felt an immense amount of relief when he saw that no one was here apart from Ten Ten behind the bar. The man sat on one of the stools in a huge coat talking to her also looked familiar, but he couldn't place him in his current state of mind. Temari had arrived a few minutes later, wearing a tight fitting dress that showed off her figure and fishnet tights. However, as she sat down in the seat opposite Shikamaru, she wrapped a loose cardigan around herself, covering herself up.

_Mixed signals as usual_, Shikamaru thought with a frown. It would be an understatement to say he was frustrated with the woman in front of him and again, it wasn't an excuse, but she was partly the reason he took his frustration out on Ino. He imagined Ino had been doing the same that night, frustrated over Choji. Shikamaru knew more about their relationship than anyone. It made the whole thing an even bigger mess.

"I'm surprised you actually came." Shikamaru told Temari, as he pushed a glass of red wine towards her. "I bought that for you."

Temari shrugged. "You sounded different on the phone. I figured you could do with a friend right now. And thank you." She took a big sip, slowly licking her lips to rid them of any excess wine. It was a teasing action and Shikamaru wondered if she even knew about the effect she had on him, the troublesome woman.

"A friend." Shikamaru echoed. "Is that all you are to me?"

She gave him a look that was mixed with frustration and something resembling pity. "Yes, you know it us. I can't get all het up about you when you're so close to home. We've had this conversation a million times. Now what's up? Something is bothering you and I'm not so vain to assume it's me."

Despite her rejection, Shikamaru grinned at what had followed. She could read him like a book. His grin faded when he told her though.

Her reaction was priceless. She was genuinely stunned by what she had heard and took a huge gulp of wine to help deal with it. "Holy shit. What the fuck were you thinking, Shikamaru?" She eventually snapped at him.

"I don't know. I really don't. If I'm honest, I only agreed to go clubbing that night in case you went. When you refused, I went anyway just to prove to myself it hadn't just been for you." Shikamaru sighed. "I got even drunker to drown my sorrows. Ino was doing the same. I told her about you, she told me about Choji and we ended up kissing and going back to my place."

Temari pressed her lips together for a moment. "That's precisely why I didn't go clubbing that night. You mean last Friday, right? I didn't go because I didn't want anything to happen between us."

"Why not? Stop with the 'it's too close to home' crap, Temari. We'd be good together, but I'm getting tired of trying with you."

She didn't answer him for a while. Temari didn't want to be with Shikamaru because it scared her, the potential amount of love she could feel for him. She didn't want to feel vulnerable in that way and open her heart to someone like that. She had Kankuro and Gaara and it was draining enough protecting them and looking after them. Worrying about those two was bad enough, let alone a partner. It was why she never stayed with anyone for long, opting for one night stands instead. The man in front of her had to remain a friend, otherwise she could get hurt.

However…hearing him be so blunt about it was hard. Hearing him say he was getting tired of trying was hard too. It was selfish, but she wanted it both ways. She wanted him interested in her, so she could flirt and have fun and then retreat back into herself. Leading him along was never going to last forever, she realised. But she didn't want him to lose interest altogether. It was a strange feeling, caring about someone this much and not really wanting to.

"I'll go on a date with you." She said abruptly, regretting the words the second they were out of her mouth. What was she _doing_? Was she seriously going to go through with this just to hold his interest? It was pathetic.

Shikamaru blinked at her. "What did you just say?" He asked, astounded.

"I'll go on a date with you." She repeated reluctantly. "However, you have to sort out this situation with Ino and Choji first." She added in a firm tone.

"Why?" Shikamaru frowned.

Temari looked away, embarrassed. "Oh, you know…I'll try anything once." She took a deep breath in then exhaled slowly. "Look, I'm giving you a chance, alright? I don't want to, but you've got yourself in some shit here and I'm cheering you up. Consider it your reward for sorting out your friendship with Choji and whatever the hell you have going on with Ino."

"Ino's attractive, but she's just my friend too." Shikamaru said quietly. "I want to keep it that way if I can, but I don't know if I'll be able to."

"You're going to have to try. Have you even spoken to Choji about all of this yet?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. I've been waiting for him to contact me and cool down, but thinking about it some more has made me realise I have to step up to the plate and sort this out myself. I'll go to Naruto's tomorrow. Ino said that's where he's staying."

Temari smiled at him. "Good. Let me know how it goes." She paused, before adding hesitantly, "I hope you're sorting out because you need to, not for a date with me though."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. No offence, Temari, but Choji is more important right now. Date or no date, I'd be round there tomorrow talking to him." He smiled slightly. "Can't we consider this a date though? I did buy you a drink."

Temari rolled her eyes. "No, we can't. This is two friends hanging out." She finished off her wine and stood up. "And now I'm repaying the favour. Pint of beer?"

After Shikamaru's amused nod, she walked over to the bar to order their drinks. Shikamaru watched her go, fascinated. He didn't know what had suddenly changed her mind but he was glad she had. Was it jealousy about him sleeping with Ino? It couldn't be; that meant nothing. Perhaps it was him just being brutally honest about it all. Either way, he couldn't believe it. He had wanted to go on a date with Temari for so long thinking it an impossibility he hadn't thought what to do on one. That would have to take a backseat for now though, because in order to even go on it he had to sort out the mess he was in first.

For now, he could relax with a friend who was potentially going to be more someday, even if she was far too troublesome sometimes.

XXX

Hinata sighed as she sat in front of the television with Choji. At least she wasn't alone tonight, even if the man sat next to her wasn't the one she wanted. They were watching some reality programme that wasn't very interesting but nothing else was on. It was Saturday night and she was staying in. That was her life. She wondered what Naruto was doing. He had to have gotten there by now…wherever he was going. She hoped it was going to go well for him. She hoped it with every fibre of her being. It made her so happy to think Naruto was finally getting closer to doing what he always wanted to do.

As the programme came to a predictable end, Choji yawned and stretched. "It's not even nine and I'm knackered." He said to Hinata. "When did I turn into an old man?" He chuckled, but something in his tone made Hinata look at him in sympathy.

"Do you want to sleep? I can always leave you in peace." She offered, even though she didn't really have anything better to do than watch television.

Choji shook his head. "Thanks, Hinata, but I don't want to go to bed yet. I wanted to talk to you, actually."

Hinata frowned. "What about?" She asked, immediately worried she had done something wrong.

"How long exactly have you been in love with Naruto?"

"What!" Hinata squealed. Her cheeks turned crimson and she buried her face in her hands to try and hide it. She realised, belatedly, that this wasn't the best of cover-ups and emerged, still blushing, to look at Choji eye to eye. "I – I am n-not." She protested weakly.

Choji raised an eyebrow. "I may not be the smartest guy around…but your face lights up whenever he enters the room, you do practically anything he says, you hang on his every word…if that's not love, you certainly like him a hell of a lot more than me."

Hinata bit her lip. "He is just my friend. I don't l-love him." She insisted.

"Whatever you say." Choji conceded with a shrug. "I'm pretty sure he has no idea you feel like this, though. And don't worry; I'm not going to say anything."

"W-why are you saying this then?" Hinata asked, bemused.

"You need to tell him yourself how you feel one day. If you let your feelings go untold…" Choji looked distant all of a sudden and he closed his eyes as though in pain. When he opened them, he was back to normal. "It's better to open about things is all I am saying. You never know what could happen."

Hinata nodded slowly. "Thank you, Choji, but I do not think of Naruto in that – in that way. Are you okay though?"

He echoed her nod. "I'm just thinking about some things, don't mind me." He picked up the television remote and began flicking through the channels. "Oh, hey, _The Wizard of Oz _is on, we've got to watch that!"

Hinata smiled. "Yes, okay. I haven't watched it in years!"

As the film began to play, Hinata sat back on the sofa and got lost in her thoughts. Why had Choji brought that up? Had Naruto said something to him? Hope tingled in her stomach as she thought about it. Maybe he had told Choji he was too nervous to do anything. But…Choji had said Naruto had no idea about her feelings. Surely Naruto wouldn't be too shy to do anything? He seemed the sort to straight away ask a girl out. In fact, the more she thought about it, she remembered Sakura joking about Naruto would ask her out every day back when they first started secondary school together. She slumped, feeling hopeless again.

_I bet he still likes Sakura_, she thought glumly. She tossed aside thoughts of Naruto in favour of enjoying the film and found she had a great evening with Choji, singing along to the songs and generally acting silly. She hoped he would sort it out with Ino tomorrow, because underneath the wicked witch impressions and jokey singing voice, he threatened to crumble under the weight of it all.

As the credits appeared, Hinata found herself sliding an arm around Choji. The action surprised both of them and feeling brave, she pulled him in for a hug. They sat like that for a little while silently, just enjoying the comfort.

"I'm glad I'm finally getting to know you, Hinata." Choji murmured. "You're a really kind person."

Hinata smiled broadly. "I'm glad I'm getting to know you too. And things are going to go your way tomorrow, Choji, I can feel it." She had no idea how tomorrow would turn out for Choji, but she wanted to say the most reassuring thing and feeling him relax slightly was encouraging.

"Let's hope so, hey?" Choji said lightly, masking how much thinking about it pained him. He yawned loudly and broke away from their embrace. "I think I'd like to go to sleep now, if that's alright, Hinata."

She nodded and stood up fast, making her feel a little dizzy. "Good night, Choji. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Hinata."

As she walked into her room and closed the door behind her, she felt strangely happy. It hadn't been the most exciting evening in the world, but she felt she had made a friend there. She and Choji weren't that different; they were sensitive, kind and loyal. She hoped he could make things right with Ino and Shikamaru tomorrow. She really felt she had made a friend there. It felt nice, having a new friend. She had only been friends with Shino and Kiba for so long and she wasn't sure whether she could really count Naruto. He certainly thought she was a great friend, but she…she would always be wanting more than that. It was good to have Choji now. And maybe Sakura and Sai.

Remembering Sai, she got out the sketch he had drawn of her from her bedside cabinet and stared at it. He drew her so beautifully she wondered if he truly saw her like that. He didn't seem the sort to lie, but what did she know? She compared the picture to her reflection, but the picture was so much better. With a deep sigh, she changed into her nightdress and slipped under her covers. She put the picture back in the bedside drawer and lay staring up at her ceiling for a while.

Just as she began to feel tired, she turned over in order to sleep. Her alarm clock told her it was only just gone twelve. Naruto still wasn't home.

What was he doing? He had been gone for four hours now. Was he coming home tonight? He surely couldn't stay with Uchiha Sasuke for the night. Hinata tried to think straight, but sleep slowly dragged her away from consciousness and she dreamed of being painted by Sai.

XXX

Sasuke was wearing a plain white t-shirt that hung loosely from his body and to Naruto's astonishment a pair of jeans. He wasn't wearing any shoes, only a pair of thin black socks and to see Sasuke looking so casual was very uncomfortable. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't worn Neji's suit after all. Sasuke smelled of strong aftershave which was the only hint that the man had somewhat spruced up for this. After giving Naruto another once-over, he beckoned him inside and closed the door behind them.

Instantly, Naruto's attention was on the apartment. He couldn't believe how the other half lived. It was large and spacious and airy, with top-notch furniture and expensive, modern paintings hung on the walls. There was also a photo of Sasuke's family and – Naruto audibly gasped – a massive flat-screen television on the wall! Beneath it was a fireplace, though the fire wasn't lit and surrounding it brown leather sofas. There was an archway that exposed a state of the art kitchen that matched the living room's colour scheme and also a dining table. Two plates were set out on it at opposite sides of the table and there were three candles in the centre that weren't lit yet. There were three dark brown doors leading off from the living room, two on one side and one on the other and Naruto had to guess they led to bedrooms and a bathroom. It was an amazing place. Naruto was jealous he couldn't call this his home, although he did think at least his place was cosy.

This place looked so fancy he was afraid he might rumple something if he took another step. Thinking of this, he quickly took his shoes off and put them by the front door in case there was anything on them. The carpet was cream-coloured and already he was terrified he was going to spill a drink. The oak floorboards in the kitchen didn't look any more inviting to stand on. _This is crazy_, Naruto thought in awe. He couldn't believe Sasuke lived here alone.

_If he did._ Naruto thought suddenly. It never occurred to him before that Sasuke might have a girlfriend. Surely she would have joined them for dinner if that was the case? He had never heard of one that was for sure. He didn't like the thought of that for some reason.

Sasuke led Naruto into the kitchen and gestured towards the chair closest to the window. It was one, huge window that basically acted as the wall aswell in this room. Naruto felt horribly exposed as he sat down gingerly, wondering who out there was looking in on them. It seemed very public for someone like Sasuke, who had a soundproof office. Perhaps it was only the kitchen that was like this. Didn't he ever just eat breakfast in his underpants or something? Clearly not.

As Sasuke sat down in the chair opposite, Naruto was aware they had not spoken a word to each other yet since Sasuke had asked him to come in. It was very strange. He looked down at his meal.

"I hope you like spaghetti carbonara." Sasuke said, as if he could read Naruto's thoughts. "I…" He paused, as if assessing what Naruto's response would be. "I could have had a chef in to do something extravagant, but I decided to make something myself. It's hardly the most important part of the evening." He added hurriedly.

Naruto grinned. He couldn't believe this. Sasuke had cooked their meal! And he seemed embarrassed about it! "I love it, actually." He told him, unable to stop his smile stretching wider. "Shall we start eating before it gets cold?"

Sasuke nodded. As they began eating, Naruto was relieved that it was actually delicious. He wasn't that picky with food so he wasn't too concerned to begin with, but it was a relief that Sasuke wasn't a bad cook. He didn't know why it pleased him so much that Sasuke had successfully prepared this himself when it wasn't a difficult dish at all, but it did. Sasuke had made the effort for him when he didn't have to.

A slightly more pessimistic side of him reminded himself it surely had saved Sasuke money instead of hiring a professional chef, but Naruto chose to ignore it. They didn't talk much as they ate, with Naruto commenting he loved the food and Sasuke muttering it hadn't been much effort. Ever since he confessed he had made it, he seemed determined to undermine this. When they were finished, Naruto was unsure whether he should offer to clean up.

Sasuke, reading his mind again, told him not to worry about the dishes. "I have a cleaner that comes in every morning."

"Oh. Okay." Naruto mumbled. A cleaner! Naruto couldn't imagine having someone clean for him, though as he thought this he thought guiltily of Hinata, who ended up doing an awful lot of the cleaning in their flat.

"Now that we've eaten, I suppose we can discuss the job." Sasuke shrugged. He stood up and stretched. As he did so, his t shirt rode up and revealed a taut, defined stomach. Naruto flushed as he saw it and looked away immediately, uncertain of his reaction to that.

Just as he was beginning to finally relax in Sasuke's presence, he felt uncomfortable again. _At least I'm not yelling at him for once_, Naruto thought. He followed Sasuke into the living room and watched him sit down on the biggest sofa.

"What are you standing there for? Sit down." Sasuke patted the cushion next to him.

Naruto did so dutifully; though he wasn't quite sure he liked sitting this close to Sasuke. Up close he could see Sasuke's long eyelashes and a small scar on his temple. He remembered when Sasuke had touched his lips and how soft his skin was. He flushed again. What the hell was happening to him?

"The way the job is going to work is like a trial period, but you get paid and have all the benefits a fully-fledged employee of Uchiha Powers would have." Sasuke explained. Naruto blinked and refocused on what Sasuke was saying, rather than staring at his plump lips forming the words. "This trial period will last six months and if after it I am satisfied you have done a good job, I will offer you a permanent position complete with a pay rise. The wage for this trial period will be comparable to that of your current job as you will be my apprentice, though I think it is a little more. You will get a letter detailing all of the financial stuff on Monday so I won't go through that with you now."

The blond nodded, though he was captivated by Sasuke's mouth again. Part of him longed to reach out and place a finger on his lips as Sasuke had done to him last week. Had Sasuke forgotten about that? Naruto frowned. He had to pull himself together. He had to listen to his new boss. He didn't know what exactly was going on with himself at this moment in time but listening was certainly something he had to do right now.

"You will work in my office with me, attending my meetings so you can learn how they take place. You will have a desk in my office. You will often answer to Karin. She is my secretary and interacts with me more than anyone else – apart from you now. She will give you jobs to do if I am busy and cannot do so myself. She is a valuable member of the Uchiha Powers team and you will respect her for that. You will be doing a variety of things and seeing as you have a way with words, I'll want you to speak on behalf of us in various meetings to investors in order to persuade them to invest."

"What!" Naruto yelped. "But I'm only an apprentice, how can you trust me with something like that?"

"Oh, it won't just be you; you'll just have the final word on it. Now, your hours will be from 9am to 5pm but you will often have to work some overtime or attend a meeting that isn't in those hours. You will be given a mobile phone with a list of contacts that are relevant to your work only. Keep it that way and always answer your phone if it rings." Sasuke leaned back and exhaled deeply. "I think that's everything you need to know right now. Are you still on board?"

"Yes, of course." Naruto replied eagerly. "I can't wait to get started!"

"Good." Sasuke said. He edged ever so slightly closer to Naruto and placed a hand on his arm. "I know you will make me very satisfied, Naruto." He murmured.

Naruto chuckled nervously and moved further away, though he couldn't shake off Sasuke's hand. He had to get them back on safe territory before things got…weird again. "So I come up to your office for 9am, right?" He confirmed.

Sasuke nodded. "That is correct. Don't be late or you'll be punished."

"Punished?" Naruto echoed. Punctuality was not his strong point. "What sort of punishment? Will you dock my pay?"

"You'll see." Sasuke smirked. "I'm sure I'll have to punish you sooner or later."

"Okay." Naruto mumbled. He looked around desperately for something to talk about. "So do you live here by yourself?" It was the question that burned at the back of his mind and for reasons unknown he had to know the answer to this.

"Yes. I moved in shortly after my brother's death – it was his apartment." Sasuke told him matter-of-factly, though Naruto sensed he was putting a brave face on the subject. He was very curious about how Itachi Uchiha had died but knew he could never ask that.

"Does it ever get lonely?" Naruto asked instead. He bit his lip, worried he was treading on being too personal.

Sasuke shrugged. "I often have people stay over and I prefer to be independent, so no, not really."

_People stay over? Did he mean…? _Naruto wasn't sure why, but the thought of that irked him a little. He couldn't decide what Sasuke did with his lifestyle and he certainly had never judged anyone before for sleeping around so why the irritated feeling at the pit of his stomach?

His boss rolled his eyes at him. "Does it bother you, me talking about this?"

Naruto realised his emotions must have shown in his face. He shook his head vehemently. "No! I can't judge what you do in your own home, S-Sasuke." It was the first time saying his name out loud and it felt really weird.

"When was the last time you fucked someone, Naruto?" Sasuke enquired, raising a curious eyebrow.

"You can't ask me that!" Naruto gasped, turning red. "It's none of your business!"

Sasuke smirked again. "It's just casual banter between colleagues…well, a boss and his apprentice. Workmates talk like this all the time, do they not? I often hear my employees talking about their latest escapades during their lunch hours."

Naruto scowled at him and folded his arms. "There's no way I'm talking about that with you. You're my new boss!"

"Oh well, it was worth a shot. If you're a virgin," Sasuke added, "that's nothing to be ashamed of you know."

"I-I'm not a virgin!" Naruto shouted indignantly.

He was lying. He thought back to the one and only time he had come near to having sex – Shikamaru and Choji had taken him and Sai to a club to lose their virginities back when they were eighteen. Sai hadn't succeeded, insulting one girl by telling her she had a lovely moustache and telling another she was a little chubby. Naruto had tried his best, dancing and hitting on girls all night and did eventually hit it off with a girl…until her boyfriend appeared demanding to know what the fuck was going on here then.

He sighed as he thought about it. He never told anyone he hadn't had sex since – he'd never even been kissed properly. Sure, he'd had pecks on the mouth from his friends during silly dares but he had never had a true first kiss. Even Sakura didn't know. He was pretty sure she'd drag him out clubbing and force him to hook up with a girl immediately. He didn't know why he had never had success with a girl. He hadn't liked a single one since Sakura and that was a silly childhood crush, not to be taken seriously. What was wrong with him?

Sasuke was staring at Naruto, seeing him flush and grow angrier by the second. He had been joking about the virginity thing – but seeing his reaction made him second guess the blonde in front of him. He couldn't be, could he? They were twenty three! Sasuke had lost his virginity at sixteen, when he left his posh all boys' school and joined a mixed sixth form college. He couldn't even remember her name. Nor the name of the first guy he slept with around a year later. It didn't matter; there had been plenty since. Hardly any stood out to him. Naruto was certainly a strange one, different from his usual sort. He couldn't help feeling more intrigued. The difficulty level of this chase had just been upped and it was exciting.

"I fucked someone last night, in case you were wondering." Sasuke informed him casually, closing the gap between them once more. "What's your favourite position, Naruto?"

Naruto stood up. "I already said I am not having this conversation with you! Is there anything more about the job you need to tell me? If not, then thank you for dinner but I should leave."

Sasuke stood up so he was parallel to Naruto. "No, there's nothing more about the job I need to tell you. I want to talk to you about yourself, Naruto. I want to find out things about you." He stepped closer and closer until their noses were touching.

"Why do you want to know?" Naruto demanded, though he didn't move away. In fact, he could feel Sasuke's hot breath on his face and it was beginning to excite him.

"Because…" Sasuke paused. He reckoned "I want to fuck your brains out" was a little strong for Naruto. "You have interested more than anyone else in a long time." He licked his lips seductively.

Naruto was in a panic. He could feel himself growing hard. Was he seriously getting _turned on_ by Uchiha Sasuke, his new boss, just from his breath on his face and the low murmur of his words? He had a sudden urge to lean in and lick Sasuke's lips for him.

That was the final straw. Naruto turned away sharply, shaking his head multiple times and flapping his arms around manically. "I have to go!" He yelled with his back to Sasuke, hurrying towards his shoes and attempting to put them on as fast as humanely possible.

Sasuke crossed his arms and remained where he was, bemused. "Have I done something to offend you again?"

"Yes! No!" Naruto burbled. "I'll see you Tuesday! Thank you for the meal!" With that, he was out of the door and jabbing the button for the lift repeatedly. He hoped Sasuke wasn't going to come out and say anything else. He did not want to see his boss for a little while.

To his immense relief, and a tiny hypocritical sliver of disappointment, Sasuke's front door remained closed. The lift doors opened, Naruto stepped inside and as they closed behind him he let out a long breath. He was still…hard down there. He found himself staring down at his crotch in disbelief.

"Pull yourself together, Naruto." He said to himself firmly. "Obviously, you were just stressed and nervous about impressing your new boss and your hormones confused this feeling with being turned on. If it wasn't for your nerves and worry and panic about pleasing him, this wouldn't have happened. That's why it never happens with anyone else. Don't worry about it. It won't happen again." He carried on muttering to himself even as he hunted for a bus stop. He ended up getting lost and having to walk back the other way, passing Sasuke's building again. He was determined not to look up at it, but his eyes automatically glanced upwards into Sasuke's kitchen. The lights were still on and to Naruto's amazement Sasuke was cleaning the dishes from earlier.

For one second Sasuke glanced outside and their eyes met. Naruto started walking away as soon as it happened, ignoring the surge of electricity that passed through him. His nerves were clearly terrible tonight. That and the sexual questions brought up his old feelings. That was it.

He got home at around one in the morning to his surprise. Time had passed so fast at Sasuke's. It was okay, he assured himself. He was never going to go there again anyway. He got into bed and his hand absent-mindedly travelled downwards. He was soft again now, to his relief. He tried not to think about the night. For once, it had been him acting out of the ordinary and abruptly ending their night together. Still, Sasuke shouldn't have started it by asking those…questions. Was he really just trying to establish a workmate relationship? It didn't seem right.

Naruto tried to sleep, but couldn't. He grasped his penis and forced himself to think of fantasy girls, with large breasts and tiny waists and blonde hair, not mysterious guys with firm muscles and slender figures and dark hair.

**Author's Note: **_**Even I was beginning to wonder if we'd ever get to their 'date'. I was having huge issues writing that scene so I can only hope it came out okay. My thanks go out to those of you following this, favouriting this and most of all reviewing this.**_

_**This is just a note to say that I started university on the 28**__**th**__** (!) but I will be trying my hardest to keep the updates as regular as they have been. I have a Fresher's fortnight and a pass to go to every event happening each night, introductory lectures and friends I need to make. Let's hope chapters eight and nine will appear when they should. Stay tuned! I would love some reviews for this chapter or even just someone wishing me luck this term! ;)**_


	8. Chapter Eight - Confronting Them

**Chapter Eight: Confronting Them**

When Naruto woke up the following morning it was because of loud voices coming from the living room. He sat up blearily and rubbed his eyes. What was going on? He automatically hurried towards his bedroom door before he realised he was in his boxers, so he quickly wrapped an orange dressing gown around himself. As he emerged into the well-lit living room he squinted at the four people in front of him.

Hinata was sat on the sofa, obviously feeling uncomfortable. Her eyes lit up when she saw Naruto was finally awake and her stature relaxed ever so slightly. She was the only person sat down. Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were stood in the centre of the room looking hassled and stressed. Naruto hesitated, wondering what to do, before striding forward and making his presence known to everyone.

"How long have you guys been here?" He asked. "How come no one woke me up?"

"S-sorry Naruto!" Hinata squeaked immediately. "You must have come in late last night, so I didn't know whether or not wake you…they have only been here ten minutes…I should have asked you…I'm sorry, I –"

"Calm down Hinata, you're rambling." Naruto said with a smile. He folded his arms and took in the situation. Ino's eyes were red, Shikamaru was avoiding Choji's harsh gaze. "What was the shouting about? It's what woke me up."

"What do you think it was about, Naruto?" Shikamaru snapped. He sighed heavily, pulling on his topknot which he often did when he was uncertain or annoyed. "Choji, please try and listen. We've told you it meant absolutely nothing. Ino loves you. I love – well." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm interested in Temari, everyone knows that."

"I can't do this." Choji whispered, as though Shikamaru hadn't even spoken.

"Choji, please, give me another chance." Ino said desperately. "It will never happen again. It was because of our arguments and my own stupid self."

"I don't want to be nosy, but Ino, you've said that before. What could you and Choji be arguing about that was possibly so bad you would want to cheat?" Naruto cut in, frowning.

Ino looked at Choji helplessly. He ignored her, focusing on Shikamaru instead. She took a deep breath. "I want to have children and get married. Choji doesn't." She said quietly.

"Oh!" Naruto didn't know what to say to that. He was flummoxed by this news. "Well." There was a long silence while he and Hinata digested this. "That doesn't excuse cheating."

"I know." She sniffed. "Which is why I'm begging for forgiveness here."

Choji shook his head. "It's not as black and white as that. Look, I can't do this. Shikamaru, you're no longer someone I can consider a friend. Ino…I can't be with you anymore. I'm breaking up with you."

She gasped loudly and clutched a hand to her mouth, shaking her head. She stepped forward towards Choji but he stepped backwards to widen the gap between them once more. Ino stopped. Her expression was one of complete horror and, despite everything, astonishment.

Shikamaru winced as though he was in pain. "We've been best friends for years and years, is there really no way you can forgive me? Forgive us?" It was the closest Shikamaru had ever came to pleading.

"No." Choji replied. "All I feel when I look at you is hatred. It's taking everything in me to not punch you right now."

"Punch me." Shikamaru said. He stood less than a metre away and raised his chin. "Do it!"

"I'm not going to –"

"Do it!" Shikamaru shouted, stepping forward even more.

Choji didn't need any more convincing than that. He punched Shikamaru hard, causing Shikamaru to fall onto the floor and clutch his face. Choji stood over him, feeling worse, not better. He stared at his fist as though he couldn't believe what he had just done. Hinata knelt beside Shikamaru, making sure he was alright. Naruto was closer to Choji in an instant in case he did anything more. Shikamaru sat up gingerly, one palm clutched across half of his face. His breathing was in heavy gasps.

"Choji," Ino murmured. She didn't look at Shikamaru; didn't want to see the damage Choji had done. "This is my fault. So you can have the…home. I'll find somewhere else to live. Sakura said I could stay at hers anytime I needed to."

"Are you sure?" Choji asked her whilst keeping his eyes firmly on the ground. No one seemed to want to look at anyone directly. The atmosphere was heavy and awkward and the air could be cut with a knife.

"Yes. I – I love you Choji. If you ever change your mind about this…I'll be waiting." Ino said, before turning and running out of the apartment, desperate to find somewhere more private to go and cry. The front door was left open from her quick escape and no one seemed eager to go and close it.

"Choji…." Naruto said, reaching out a hand to comfort him.

"Don't." Choji snapped. "Just – don't, okay? I need to be alone right now. Thank you for letting me stay here, but I need to go home now. I'm sorry, Naruto." His voice was slow and quiet, as though he was holding everything in. He took one last glance at Shikamaru, who was shaking his head at the scene in despair. "Don't call me again, Shikamaru. We're done. Naruto, I'll see you soon. Hinata?"

She stood up as he addressed her. "Yes?"

"Think about what we talked about last night, okay?" He murmured. "Don't end up like Ino and I have because we wouldn't talk about what we wanted until it was too late. I'll see you soon too."

With that, he sluggishly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him without looking back. There was a long silence after this, with Shikamaru remaining on the floor and Naruto and Hinata staring at each other at a loss of what to do. After a couple of minutes like this, Shikamaru got to his feet, apologising for what had happened.

"I don't know what I thought would happen, but I didn't think that would." He admitted to them, before wincing. "Can I have some ice?"

"Sure." Hinata said, eager to remain on good terms with Shikamaru as she had only just gotten to know him and his first impression wasn't too great. She was a firm believer in second chances at a first impression. She passed him a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer. "Hold this up to the side of your face."

Shikamaru did so carefully. "I feel sick. Choji hates me now. Ino is worse off than she was before arguing constantly. You all dislike me with a passion and I don't blame you. I dislike myself right now. I didn't expect Choji to forgive me straight away but I didn't think he would break up with Ino or abandon our friendship. There's nothing more I can do now except hope that he changes his mind. And you don't have to be a genius to realise that may never happen."

"You're not my favourite person right now Shikamaru, but I don't dislike you with a passion, okay?" Naruto told him. "You know me, I'm a forgiving person and no matter what I believe friendships should last. I don't believe for a second Choji had truly broken the bonds he has with you and Ino – they're too strong for that. He's just hurting right now and you have to give him the time he needs to deal with it."

Shikamaru blinked, a little surprised by Naruto's speech. "Thanks, Naruto. You're shrewder than people give you credit for, you know?"

Naruto shrugged away the compliment. "I'm not quite your level, Shikamaru, even if you have just done the stupidest thing a friend can do." He paused as he thought about something. "Can you – can you not come out this Friday though? I want to make sure Choji comes out and he never will if you're there."

"Of course. I don't feel like going out right now anyway." Shikamaru sighed. He glanced at Hinata, who was standing uneasily next to them uncertain of whether or not to say anything or just leave them alone. "Sorry for doing all of this right in front of you Hinata. When Choji called Ino and I and said he wanted to talk…I didn't realise we'd cause such a fuss. And sorry for waking you up, Naruto." He added.

"Forget about it." Naruto said. "I wish you hadn't done this. I really do. Things are going to be so complicated from now on."

Shikamaru nodded. "I know." He carefully removed the bag of frozen peas from his face. "Do you want these back? I'm going to go now. I've already outstayed – well, I was going to say my welcome, but I don't think I was welcome here in the first place."

Hinata took the bag. She didn't quite know Shikamaru well enough to comfort him or tell him he was wrong. It was Naruto's apartment and he was Naruto's friend, after all. She went to put it back in the freezer and took as long as she could so they could talk a little without feeling she was listening in.

"Don't feel like that." Naruto sighed. "The problem is between you, Choji and Ino, not me. You can come round whenever."

Shikamaru smiled slightly. "I appreciate that." He told Naruto. They walked over to the front door together and as Shikamaru walked through it he looked back. "Make sure Choji has a fun time on Friday, won't you?"

"You can guarantee it." Naruto promised.

They nodded at one another, and then Shikamaru was gone, ambling down the hall at his painstakingly slow pace.

Naruto closed the door and pressed his forehead against it, feeling stressed and useless.

"Naruto?" Hinata called uncertainly.

He turned around. "I'm alright. Just…this is all a bit much, you know?"

"I know." She agreed. "I know I don't know them very well, but I had a conversation with Choji and he really needs a friend like you right now, Naruto. It's good you're going to be there for him."

They sat down on the sofa together. "Thanks, Hinata." Naruto said. "I wish there was something more I could do though. I hate sitting around, waiting for things to happen."

Hinata hated it too, even though she did that every day, waiting and hoping someday Naruto would make a move on her. It was an impossible way to live. She decided to change the subject to steer away from that dangerous territory. "How was last night? What's your new job going to be like?"

Naruto groaned. "Last night was strange. I don't even want to get into it. But," his voice became brighter, "the job sounds fantastic at least. I can't wait to get started. I'm certainly not going to miss being a coffee boy."

"It's your last day tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Yeah. My last day giving people coffee and being paid for it! I have a good feeling about this apprenticeship, Hinata, I feel like if I just get through it I can really make something of myself. And Sasuke says if I impress him enough he'll offer me a brilliant job at the end of it."

"Wow! That's great." Hinata beamed. "Of course you'll impress him, you're brilliant yourself." The compliment slipped out and Hinata flushed, but Naruto didn't seem to notice. There was excitement in his eyes and he was clearly distracted thinking about his new job.

"I just imagine myself in ten years' time as CEO of my own company," Naruto continued, as though Hinata hadn't spoken, "and everyone looks up to _me_. I won't ever stop believing in myself. I can do it if I really set my mind to it. I know I can. This will help me so much if I can just –" He broke off, looking lost suddenly as though he had just realised he was speaking aloud. "I'm rambling. Sorry."

"It's fine. It's nice to hear about your dreams." Hinata said truthfully. Seeing the hope in Naruto's eyes made him look so wonderful. She had to stop herself from staring at him for too long and quickly focused on some of the carpet instead.

"What are your dreams?" Naruto asked. "Enough about me!"

Hinata shook her head. "I wanted to be a nursery teacher, I became one. I wanted a lovely home, I have one. My dreams are complete." _I want you, Naruto._ Her final dream remained unspoken, remained incomplete.

"That's great, I wish my dreams were complete." Naruto sighed wistfully. He gave Hinata a playful nudge. "Give me some of your luck."

"It's not luck, Naruto. It's working hard. And you work harder than anyone I've ever known." Hinata said. "You'll get there one day soon, starting with shining at this apprenticeship."

"Thanks…" Naruto looked at Hinata. She had certainly changed these last couple of weeks. She could talk to him properly. He liked the change in her. She was coming out of her shell. He hated that all of this mess with Choji, Ino and Shikamaru had happened just as she was beginning to get to know them. He hoped she would continue to grow in confidence.

He was jealous she had accomplished all of her dreams. His weren't finished by a long shot. He had his apartment, but he wanted to be a CEO of a company, he wanted his friends to be happy again, he wanted someone he could call his partner. Whenever he thought about a relationship nowadays there was only one person who lingered in his mind and he didn't want to think about why. He didn't want to admit to himself that he could possibly like them in that way. Even after last night.

Last night. Naruto had managed to be distracted long enough from thinking about it but now it crept back into his mind, taunting him and telling him he was something he never thought he would be.

"Hinata," he said loudly, "do you want to go out somewhere today?"

"Out somewhere?" She echoed in a squeal. "Just the two of us?"

Was he asking her out on a _date? _Surely not, this was too must have meant for them to go out as friends somewhere. That was it. Hinata pushed down the tingles of excitement appearing in her stomach.

"Yeah. I don't want to sit inside all day and think about – how about the cinema and then a walk around the park?" Naruto suggested.

"I –!" Hinata could barely speak. She was red as a beetroot already. "That sounds great." She mumbled. "What should we see?"

"Let's decide when we get there. Come on, I'll hop in the shower while you get dressed."

"Okay." Hinata said excitedly. She jumped up and hurried to her bedroom. What should she wear? Was this a date or wasn't it? She shouldn't dress up too much; it was only the cinema and then a walk. Would her jeans do or should she wear the new dress she had bought recently? Her mind was in turmoil wondering what to do.

Naruto meanwhile slipped into the shower and gasped as cold water hit him. This was exactly what he needed – a day out with a friend to distract from these thoughts he was having that he couldn't explain. He was surprised Hinata had agreed so readily, willing to give up her day just to see some stupid film with him. But then, Hinata was lovely like that. She was always willing to do things for other people. He was lucky to have a friend like her.

XXX

Kiba woke up to Kankuro placing a cup of tea on the bedside table. The gesture was surprisingly caring and intimate and made the man sit up straight, worried about where this was heading. He didn't want Kankuro to think this _meant _anything. It was just sex. It didn't matter to him. He didn't want anyone finding out – especially his friends or family. They couldn't know he was bisexual and definitely not with Kankuro.

It had started after he went out with everyone that Friday night. He went out as a favour to Hinata, not really expecting to get along with anyone. Hinata was occupied with Naruto, Sai and Sakura and Shino was occupied with the barmaid, whose name he had forgotten. He wasn't interested in talking to Gaara or Lee, who were too wrapped up in each other anyway. Choji and Ino were busy mixing between arguing and getting along so he spent most of evening talking to Kankuro, Temari and Shikamaru. It was Temari he was interested in at first, appreciating straight away her good looks and curvy body. However, it was clear after a while that Shikamaru wanted her so he backed off.

This left Kankuro to talk to. He wasn't happy about that. Kankuro was a transvestite who was loud, brash and annoying and drank far too much. They ended up having a drinking competition and Kiba was proud to say he won. Then they went clubbing. They were already hammered and Kiba straight away tried hitting on numerous girls, getting shot down each time.

Kankuro was there to pick up the pieces by the end of the night, when Kiba got too frustrated too continue. Shikamaru and Ino had vanished anyway and Sakura had left earlier after an embarrassing encounter with some guy. When Kiba first kissed Kankuro, he was pushed away. Kankuro told him he was drunk and didn't know what he was doing. But Kiba did know what he was doing. As Kankuro was hardly sober himself that was all the persuading he needed.

Initially Kiba had meant it to be a one night stand. He didn't know why he called Kankuro a few days later and it happened again. But it kept happening and now this cup of tea was the worrying sign of a relationship.

"What the hell is this?" Kiba asked, picking up the tea and simply staring at it.

Kankuro laughed before he realised Kiba was serious. "It's a cup of tea. I thought you might like one. I remember you telling me you hated sugar in your tea, so –"

"Look," Kiba interrupted, "you can't start doing things like this."

"Like what?" Kankuro said, puzzled.

"Nice things…small gestures…that kind of thing!" Kiba told him, exasperated. "It starts to put meaning to this – this _arrangement_ we have. So don't do it, okay?"

Kankuro frowned. "Is there no meaning to this then?"

"Of course not!" Kiba cried. "This is just, I don't know, fucking. Friends with benefits. If you can call us friends. It doesn't mean anything." He slammed the cup of tea back down on the bedside cabinet without taking even a single sip. "Look, you haven't told anyone about us, have you?"

"I live with my siblings and you're currently lying in my bed, I think they know." Kankuro said. His voice was clipped and cold as he took in what Kiba was telling him. He looked at the cup of tea he had made and wanted to smash it.

"I told you the first time, apart from them I don't want anyone else knowing." Kiba fumed, his temper flaring. "Have they told anyone?"

Kankuro shook his head. "I made sure Temari didn't. Gaara has probably told Lee though." At Kiba's horrified look he added quietly, "They won't tell anyone else."

"Good." Kiba sighed. He noticed the sad, hurt look in Kankuro's eyes. He didn't want to hurt him, he really didn't, but he couldn't risk everyone finding out about this. He didn't want to have to come out to everyone and deal with the consequences from his family. As if they would accept him in a relationship with a man. It was just better this way. "Are you okay?" He grunted.

"Yes. I didn't realise a cup of tea would cause all of this fuss. I won't ever make one ever again." It was childish, but Kankuro didn't care. He sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what to do. Should he break it off with Kiba knowing he couldn't ever acknowledge them as partners, or go along for the ride? Either way would make him feel bad. For now at least, it would be better to go along for the ride and at least have the pleasure that came with that.

Kiba seemed to sense Kankuro was softening, as he edged over to him, stroking him up and down his arms and kissing his neck.

"You understand why I have to keep this a secret, right? It's just easier this way." Kiba whispered. In one quick movement he was straddling Kankuro and kissing him softly on the lips.

"I understand." Kankuro murmured in between kisses. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His heart was aching.

"Great." Kiba grinned. Kankuro looked at the man with his legs currently wrapped around his waist and saw someone too scared to be who they truly were. Kiba's smile was strong, but his eyes were beneath a shadow of guilt about his feelings for Kankuro. Kankuro wanted to make him feel better and forget about things for a while. The only way he knew how to do that right now involved far less clothes than he had on.

Afterwards, Kiba dozed for a little while. He looked so peaceful when he slept and made little snuffling noises under his breath, like a dog. Kankuro watched him for a few minutes, stroking his hair gently so as not to wake him. Then he got dressed and went to go and wash up the now cold cup of tea on the side.

Gaara and Lee were in the kitchen, sitting at the table. Gaara was reading a newspaper with a furrowed brow while Lee was jotting something down into a notepad. Kankuro paused at the doorway as he saw them. They were so relaxed and open with each other. Why couldn't he and Kiba be like that? Why did everything always have to be so complicated with him?

"Is Kiba still asleep?" Lee asked innocently as Kankuro joined them at the table after putting the cup of tea in the sink.

"Yeah…he woke up for a little bit, but he's out for the count again now." Kankuro answered, before realising what Lee had just said. "So you know about us then?"

Lee nodded. "Gaara just told me. I think it is great you have both found one another and can express your love during the wonderful time of youth." He commented cheerfully, before resuming jotting down things on his notepad, chewing the pen in concentration.

Gaara shrugged at the look Kankuro threw him. "What's wrong with me telling Lee anyway? Temari's probably told everyone already."

"No, she hasn't. I told her not to." Kankuro said, earning him the closest Gaara could get towards a raised eyebrow displayed at him.

"Why?"

"He doesn't want our relation – our arrangement," the word tasted bitter in Kankuro's mouth, "to be made public, actually."

Gaara frowned. "That's stupid. Why not?"

"It's easier that way." Kankuro told him, echoing Kiba's earlier words. They didn't seem to hold much weight for Gaara, who scowled further. Lee was tactfully pretending not to be able to hear the two brothers' conversation.

"That's like he's ashamed of you. I won't have anyone ashamed of my older brother." Gaara muttered darkly. "I'll talk to him as soon as he wakes up and tell him he's got to man up and let everyone know."

"No, please don't!" Kankuro often forgot how scary Gaara could get when he was angry. Now that his younger brother had matured, he was fiercely protective of his siblings and often acted like he was the oldest rather than the youngest. "It's not a serious relationship anyway." Kankuro assured Gaara hurriedly, wanting to calm him down. "We're just screwing around. It's better to keep something like that quiet anyway. Just leave this to me, alright? It's my business, my life."

Gaara was subdued, barely. "Fine. But I've decided I don't like him at all."

Kankuro cracked a smile. "That's okay. I'm sure his world's not going to end about that."

Gaara's comments stuck with him though for the rest of the day, long after Kiba had gone home. Was Kiba ashamed of him, was that it? It's what it was beginning to feel like. He knew Kiba was insecure deep down though and it was that vulnerability that scared Kankuro sometimes, because it was that side of Kiba that Kankuro was sure he could fall in love with someday.

He never mentioned this to Kiba though – especially not after he freaked out that much over a cup of tea.

**Author's Note: **_**Oh Choji and Ino, why must I make you go through this?! Meanwhile the KanKiba has begun in full force…I hope you enjoyed the chapter; it was a pain to write. Please drop a review to let me know what you thought. For anyone wondering, university is going amazingly! I can't believe I am here.  
**_

_**A few hours late posting (it's 5am where I am!) but I made it just for you guys.**_


	9. Chapter Nine - The Final Day

**Chapter Nine: The Final Day**

Sakura didn't want to leave Ino by herself in the flat, she really didn't. But she had to get to work. Monday signified the beginning of another long, hard week for her but she knew Ino was having a tougher time adapting to suddenly living somewhere else and being single again. Her friend was sat at the kitchen table staring blankly off into space with her breakfast getting cold. It was horrible seeing Ino like this; the girl who was always up to date on fashion trends and beauty tips, who told Sakura how to style her hair to suit her face and always managed to be just on the right side of tactful when doing so. This was Ino who ignored the comments she often got about how she could do so much better than Choji as she looked like a model and who supported her friends no matter what decision they made.

It had not been a fun time recently. Sakura thought back to the last time they all hung out, the night it all went wrong. Fortunately, things were going well for everyone else at least. Naruto was about to start his final day at a job he hated and begin a new chapter in his life. Sakura was so proud of her best friend it practically hurt with how much she was bursting with pride. How had this hyperactive, excitable guy managed to land a job like this? Sasuke was clearly fond of him.

Naruto definitely had that effect on people. She tried to think of someone who didn't like Naruto and couldn't find a single person. She had to admit, she was a little jealous. Being in Sasuke's favour was going to work out well for him. He could reach for the stars with support like that. Her cheeks got a little pink as she thought about Sasuke. He was incredibly good looking and had the whole 'tall, dark and mysterious' thing going on. She definitely would if he asked. Not that he ever would. He hadn't spoken to her since that one and only time and didn't seem to acknowledge her existence anymore.

Before she could get too distracted thinking about Sasuke, she walked over to Ino and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Eat your breakfast." She told her gently. "It's going to be stone cold before you know it. And you have to be in at the hospital for one, remember, so you'll need to visit your florist before then." It seemed daft, reminding Ino about her work, but with the state she was in Sakura was worried she'd forget.

Ino nodded, shaking her head to snap herself out of her thoughts. "Yes. Sorry, Sakura, I was miles away." To prove she had listened to what Sakura said, she took a mouthful her egg on toast. (Sakura had made it for her – it used to be their special sleepover food when they were teenagers and was nowadays used to cheer one another up and remind them of better times).

She had moved in last night, carrying with her two suitcases of clothes and three boxes of other random bits and bobs. Choji, despite what Ino had done, drove her to Sakura's and brought up all of her things. It made Sakura sad to see him do that – she knew he must still really love Ino. He didn't stay; after dumping everything in Sakura's spare bedroom (now Ino's room) he left pretty quickly. Ino told Sakura later he hadn't said a word to her the whole journey there despite her trying to make amends. It hadn't been a great night for either of them. Ino spent most of it crying and watching sad romantic films and eating pizza (which she usually never touched through fear of having too many calories) while Sakura had spent most of it unpacking Ino's stuff and getting used to the idea of living with someone else again.

So far, things had been…not good exactly – Sakura didn't want to use that word, because Ino was still a sodden mess the majority of the time, but better than she expected. She remembered how ferociously they used to fight when they were younger, calling each other every name under the sun and with Ino in emotional turmoil she expected some angry arguments, but there were none. Ino had matured and as had Sakura. That was the only refreshingly surprising thing about Ino moving in.

Of course, it had only been a day. Perhaps Sakura was being a little too optimistic. She smiled encouragingly at Ino now, before picking up her laptop carrier and handbag and making her way out of the flat. She turned around at the threshold to take one last look at her roommate. Ino was back to staring into space again, though this time with her fork in her mouth.

"Ino?" Sakura called, startling the blonde. "I'll try not to be late tonight so I'm back before you are. I'll order in a takeaway or something. My treat."

Her friend sighed sadly. "Thank you. That sounds great. I'm alright, honestly. You don't have to spend your day worrying about me. After I've eaten this, I'll have a shower and pop down to the flower shop and sort everything out there. Then I'll get ready for work."

Again, Sakura didn't want to leave her. But she had to. "Okay. See you later. You'll be home at around eight, right?"

"Yeah." Ino answered, before taking another bite of her breakfast. It was indeed now cold and barely edible. She was going to throw it out after Sakura left but didn't want to do it in front of her as she had made it specially.

"Bye." Sakura said, reluctant to leave. She stood in the doorway for another ten seconds until Ino waved her away with her arm.

"Stop fussing! I'm fine. Get to work."

"Okay, okay," Sakura laughed, "I'm gone." She closed the door but waited another minute in case Ino started crying or something. Instead, she heard the sound of the tap being turned on and the clink of dishes being washed.

_She gave up on the egg and toast then_, Sakura thought, rolling her eyes. She didn't mind though and feeling confident enough that her duty as a best friend could be deemed adequate this morning set off to work.

There was a definite excitement in the air as she waited for the bus, thinking about how Naruto would be feeling about his last day. Nervous yes, but certainly eager to get started doing things worthwhile. As for her? She'd no doubt be having another averagely average day of routine. Not that she didn't enjoy her job; she did a lot. But sometimes a change would be nice. She often thought about jacking it all in to become a nurse and use her qualifications, but that thought was always tossed aside by the time she was sat behind her desk and taking control of the entire building's appointments, queries and issues. She'd be a nurse someday – as soon as her job got boring. Sure it was average a lot and stressful at worst, but it hadn't been truly mind numbingly boring yet and that was how Naruto felt practically every day giving people their coffee and traipsing up and down the various floors. Naruto could finally enjoy his job like she did!

She would start to cheer up Ino aswell this evening, she decided. So far Ino had barely cracked a smile once and that was not good for her. They would definitely have a good catching up session, some girly makeovers and films and food and secrets. Sex life talk, a usual topic in their conversations, would most certainly be off the table as well as anything remotely about relationships, but everything else was good to go.

It was going to be a good week! Sakura could feel it.

XXX

"Hey Naruto," Karin called from her desk outside Sasuke's office, waving at him frantically. Lots of people looked from her to Naruto wondering why she was making so noise. She was so eager her glasses slipped off her nose and onto her desk, but she simply picked them up in a flourish and placed them back on, keeping up her insistent waving.

Naruto didn't know why she was making so much noise either. He didn't know why she was even calling him. She hadn't ordered any coffee – in fact, he was on his way out of this floor having just given a cup of tea to Suigetsu and having to endure a lengthy teasing about his apron that made him have a headache. This had to be about Sasuke, surely? They hadn't spoken since Saturday and Naruto's rather abrupt departure. He immediately worried about whether everything was still okay. It had to be.

"What is it?" He asked Karin once he was over there, slipping his tray under his arm. The stares from around the floor vanished as soon as he opened his mouth. It freaked Naruto out a little how quickly everyone faded into the background once they established something wasn't an emergency or vital to them.

She narrowed her eyes at him. It didn't seem like she was overly fond of him for some reason. "Sasuke wants a word with you in his office before you resume your work." She told him. "I have no idea why he has taken such a shine to you, offering you this new job and everything…I hope you know how lucky you are!" Her tone of voice was really quite vicious, as though she had a real problem with him.

"Ignore Karin," a voice suddenly said from behind Naruto, "she just fancies Mr Uchiha like mad and hates when other people come into contact with him. You're lucky you're not a girl."

Naruto turned around to see Suigetsu standing there, arms folded with a smirk on his face. Why was he here? Karin didn't look pleased to see him either and her cheeks turned pink at his comments. "That's ridiculous, Suigetsu!" She protested, jumping to her feet and pointing a figure at him. "Leave us alone, this doesn't concern you!"

Suigetsu laughed. "Right, whatever you say, Karin. I've seen the way you look at him. When he made you his personal assistant I've heard you started wearing make-up every day soo you look your best and telling people you'll sleep with him one day –"

"Shut up!" Karin screeched. "Shut up or I'll punch you, I swear I will!"

Naruto stood there uncomfortably. They were being very loud and Karin's voice rang out above the noise of the floor. No one seemed interested though – clearly Karin was like this a lot. The two of them bickered at each other for a good five minutes, with Karin insisting she had always wore make-up to work and how would Suigetsu know, he hadn't even been here for a week yet whereas _she_ had worked for both Sasuke and Itachi and was a valuable member of the team. Suigetsu seemed amused more than anything else, as though he was enjoying Karin yelling at him. He told her if she wasn't interested in Sasuke, why was she blushing? This earned him a poke in the centre of his chest and more screeching.

"Umm…Karin?" Naruto ventured uneasily. "I do actually have to get back to work, so if I could just –"

Karin shot him a death glare. "You just wait there until I'm finished with Suigetsu!" She snarled.

"Right." Naruto said. To say he was intimidated by this formidable woman in front of him was an understatement. He also wasn't keen on the idea that she was interested in Sasuke either, though he wondered if that just because she was so scary.

At that moment, Sasuke's office door opened and Sasuke poked his head out, looking hassled. "Karin, why have you not contacted Naruto yet? I told you I wanted him in my office as soon as possible – oh!" He spotted Naruto stood to the side of Karin and Suigetsu's stand-off. "There you are. Come in, Naruto."

"Sorry, Sasuke!" Karin squealed, her demeanour changing visibly. This earned her a knowing chuckle from Suigetsu.

Sasuke frowned. "Stop teasing Karin, Suigetsu and get back to the job I pay you for."

"Fine, fine." Suigetsu shrugged, unable to hide the cheeky grin he was currently wearing. "Whatever you say, Mr Uchiha." As he turned to walk back to his office (at which point Naruto wondered why he had even left it in the first place – was it only to rile Karin up?) he muttered out of the side of his mouth at Karin, "Maybe there's something there after all, because _I'm_ certainly not on first name terms."

Karin flushed and looked ready to deny her feelings about Sasuke again, when the man himself shook his head at her. She closed her mouth, scowling, but resumed her place at her desk. Suigetsu sauntered back to his office, clearly pleased about what had occurred. The guy was a mystery to Naruto.

Sasuke waited for Naruto to walk into the office, before shutting the door behind them. He indicated the corner of the room where his desk was and Naruto found there was now another desk placed against it, with two chairs opposite each other. There was a brand new laptop on the new desk, aswell as a bunch of serious looking contracts and a wad of documents next to them. There was also a brown envelope sitting on top of the laptop.

"That's your desk." Sasuke told him, though even Naruto could figure out that much. "You'll be working up close and personal with me on a regular basis. There are some contracts you have to sign today in order for me to finalise your position by tonight. The laptop is yours to keep, though I do advise using it for work purposes only and not anything else. Don't ever forget to bring this into work if you take it home. Hopefully you won't have to take it home much. That reminds me, actually." He strode over to his own desk and from the top drawer took out an expensive-looking smartphone. "Here's your work phone I promised," he said, handing it over, "I will call you when I need you on this and you must always pick up, understand?"

Naruto held the phone in his hand like it was gold. He had never had such a fancy looking phone. He thought about the brick of a phone he had currently charging at home and vowed never to let Sasuke see that. "Oh man, can I download Candy Crush on this thing?" He asked excitedly. "Sakura always goes on about how good she is at it and I want to show her I'm better!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "As long as it's free, you can download what you want. If it doesn't distract you from your work, of course."

Naruto nodded eagerly. "It won't! Oh man, thanks." His fingers were already poking away at the screen. Sasuke, sensing that despite what he had just said this would definitely distract Naruto, closed his hand across Naruto's fingers to prevent him from doing any more.

"Clearly this is going to be a problem." Sasuke commented smoothly. Naruto's hands were rougher than his own; from actually manhandling things daily Sasuke supposed. The thought made him grin. "Perhaps I should put a ban on using the phone unless someone calls you during work hours?"

"Aw man." Naruto grumbled, before realising he was talking to his boss and straightening up visibly. "I mean – whatever works for you, Sasuke."

"Yes, let's do that." Sasuke decided. "Put that phone in your pocket and keep it there unless you hear it ring, okay?"

"Okay." Naruto sighed and reluctantly did as Sasuke said, detaching his fingers from Sasuke's firm grasp. For a second he didn't know whether he was reluctant to put the phone away or reluctant to break apart from Sasuke's hold on him. He blinked. That was a weird thought.

"That's better. I brought you in here to sign those contracts over there…standard stuff, all about the work regulations and your rights. You can read it if you want, but they're long and boring." Sasuke told him.

Naruto sat down and proceeded to sign everything without reading it, trusting Sasuke without question this time. If he had to sign stuff to do this job, he would damn well sign it. He couldn't pass up an opportunity this big. As he sat at the desk he realised with tingling anticipation that he would actually be working here tomorrow! He would have a proper job for once. And straight opposite him would be his boss…

…he saw how close Sasuke's chair was to his. There were only two desks between them and that measured about two metres or even less, something Naruto could probably jump if he ran beforehand. It wasn't much at all. It would be very awkward sitting here with only Sasuke and his laptop screen to look at. His laptop screen! He pushed the brown envelope aside and stroked it almost lovingly. He couldn't believe this was his too. Did all employers get this or was this another thing that was exclusively for him? Karin was right, Sasuke really had taken a shine to Naruto and he had no idea why either.

"The brown envelope contains all the financial details you'll need. Because you already work here I've already linked your wage to your bank, so you won't need to worry about that. The papers in there are just proof of everything for your own personal records." Sasuke informed him even though Naruto's eyes were solely on the laptop at this moment in time. "Take that home with you – and the documents to the side. It's just details of your job but I'm sure you'll pick everything up soon enough. I think that's all I needed to say to you."

Naruto got up, clutching all of the documents and the envelope under an arm as his bag was currently down in the cloakroom. He told himself to make sure he put all of this away in his bag before he took anymore coffee orders today. He would do this right away, as soon as Sasuke dismissed him.

Sasuke's thoughts always seemed to mirror Naruto's. "You can leave now. I'll see you tomorrow at 9am sharp. Remember," his tone grew menacing, "don't be late if you don't want a punishment. Especially not on your first day."

"Right." Naruto said with a frown, still unsure exactly what that punishment would be. Maybe it was in the documents he was given? He'd have to check them out. He'd have to check out the contact list for his phone aswell, plus any files on his laptop. But that could wait until tomorrow, when he actually started! "Thanks for all of this, Sasuke. I can't believe I have a brand new laptop and phone for free!" He exclaimed, before standing still and thinking about it. "They _are_ free, right?" He clarified.

Sasuke chuckled under his breath. "Yes, they are. And you're welcome."

Naruto grinned at him. "Well, I really mean what I said then. Thanks so much." He was heading out of the door when Sasuke suddenly called out to him.

"Naruto, wait."

He looked back at his boss, the tall raven-haired man who exuded so much confidence. "What is it?" He asked.

"I meant to inquire about your rather abrupt departure on Saturday evening." Sasuke said, allowing a brief smile to form on his lips. "It confused me greatly. Was I a little too personal?"

Naruto paused before answering. Yes, he _was_ a little too personal! But he couldn't just say that; especially not now with the free gifts. Sasuke sure knew how to put a guy in a tricky situation. "Well…" He struggled to find the right words. "Kind of. I didn't realise we were going to be talking about stuff like that, you know – _that_ kind of stuff. I was shocked is all. I'm fine now."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, contemplating something for a moment. "Okay. I won't ever talk about that with you again if it bothers you."

"I – what?" Naruto blinked. He was not expecting that. Was Sasuke just _considerate_ towards his feelings then? Something was amiss, surely. And as soon as Sasuke said it Naruto felt a pang of disappointment. His mind just wasn't making sense today. Why on earth would he be disappointed about that? It was a topic he knew nothing about and he certainly didn't want it to be brought up ever again…right?

"Consider the subject off the table." Sasuke shrugged. "That's all. See you tomorrow."

"Right." Naruto said, almost to himself. Again, just as he was about to leave a thought occurred to him and he turned back to Sasuke. "You know, I think this is the first time we've had a proper, non-confrontational conversation." He remarked. "I'm not yelling at you for once, or getting angry or hurt."

Sasuke smirked. It was a twisted, smug smile that unnerved Naruto a little. "I'd say that's progress, don't you?"

"Progress for what?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke waved him away impatiently. "I'm sure you'll see. Now away with you, I have work to do and you have coffee to deliver."

"See you tomorrow, Sasuke." Naruto said quietly, and then he was out of there. Back out onto the floor was like another world altogether from the silence and heat of Sasuke's office. It sure was going to be strange working there tomorrow.

Karin eyed him suspiciously. "You were in there a while. Got everything you need? Did Sasuke say anything about me?" The last question was so hopeful Naruto felt bad having to tell her that no, he hadn't.

"I think I've got everything." He said brightly. "I'll see you tomorrow aswell, Karin!"

"I can't wait." She replied bitterly, pushing her glasses up her nose and staring down at her desk, a signal that she did not want to carry on this conversation.

Naruto was grinning happily as he made his way down to the cloakroom on the ground floor and after putting everything in his bag he went to see Sakura. Unfortunately, there was a queue at the front desk so he simply gave her a wave and she acknowledged it and then he allowed her to get back to her work. Mondays were usually always the busiest days for her.

"Oh, you there!" A man called as Naruto pressed the button for the lift so he could resume taking coffee orders.

"Yeah?" Naruto answered, hoping the lift would hurry up and come.

"You're the coffee boy for the top ten floors, aren't you?"

"I am, sir, but it's my last day today." Naruto told him proudly.

The man didn't seem to care. "Right. I'll take a coffee, black, with two sugars on Room 2b on floor eighty nine, thanks. I want it to be there by the time I get back from buying my lunch."

Naruto sighed. _Just one more day of this, _he thought. "Sure thing, sir." He replied.

There was no word of thanks, but then Naruto was used to that by now. They'd all treat him far more seriously when he was actually working as a businessman here – and on floor ninety six no less. He couldn't wait to see their faces!

XXX

His final coffee of the day was to Sakura, who had made sure that it would be Naruto's last by ordering it at 4:59pm. She sat waiting at the front desk for it eager to talk about tomorrow, though she was a little tired from her stressful day. Still, the coffee would definitely help, even if she had order it more for the sake of it being Naruto's last rather than actually wanting it. As soon as Naruto appeared holding it she visibly brightened and took a big gulp as it was handed to her.

"You're done!" She told him dramatically, brandishing her coffee in the air. "This is the last one you're ever getting paid to make." She took another sip and sighed happily. "I must say, you got rather good at it by the end. I remember when you first started – I have still never tasted coffee as bad as that."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever! I don't need to worry about that anymore. As of now," he indicated the clock on the wall behind them which told them it was five past five, "I am no longer a coffee boy going nowhere. I am an apprentice to Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Powers and one of the most powerful businessmen in the country!"

"Who would have thought this would happen after you spilled coffee on him on his first day?" Sakura grinned. "You're lucky you're likeable, Naruto." She looked wistful. "Do you reckon you can introduce me to him soon properly? I'm pretty sure he's forgotten my name."

Naruto was a little startled. "Why do you want me to introduce you to him?" He asked. "I'm not sure I'll be able to anyway, it's always a little tricky having a conversation with Sasuke…he seems to like to dominate. The conversation, that is!" He added, flustered with his choice of words. God, that brought up some mental pictures he had to fight to push out of his head.

Sakura was practically blushing, but she kept a steady, even tone when she answered, "Oh, I just wondered if I could get to know him. He _is_ very attractive and rumoured to be single, so…"

"What!" Naruto shouted it, making Sakura jump and spill her coffee over her desk a little. She mopped it up with a tissue, frowning at Naruto, clearly puzzled by his reaction. Naruto was puzzled aswell. Why was he so against the idea of Sakura getting to know Sasuke? First Karin, now Sakura. Sasuke sure was popular with women. Naruto felt a pang of jealousy about that. "Sorry," he muttered to Sakura, embarrassed about his outburst, "I don't know what came over me there. I can't – I can't do that, okay? I'm only starting tomorrow, I don't want to do anything that would make Sasuke mad at me and that would make him come all the way down here and –"

"Naruto," said Sakura, cutting across him coolly, "forget it. It was only a suggestion. I didn't realise it was going to be such an issue." She sat back and pondered her best friend, curious about something but choosing not to voice her queries aloud. Instead, she finished her coffee and handed it back to him. "Your last one to wash before you're truly finished, remember."

"Right." Naruto groaned. "I'll go and do this now and then I'll be off, okay?" He was eager to get away. He was feeling unbearably uncomfortable around Sakura now, a prickly feeling of humiliation about his random shout at her eating away at him just because she said Sasuke was attractive and she wanted to be introduced to him. It was madness. She'd commented on Sasuke's looks before and he hadn't been bothered, so why now? Perhaps he was just stressed about the coming week.

That had to be it, surely.

XXX

Temari patted Shikamaru on the shoulder awkwardly as they sat on the sofa at her house. She and her siblings (and Lee for the past six months or so) lived in a large mansion left to them by their parents and it was so big they had a floor each to themselves (although Gaara and Lee shared a floor), with the ground floor then acting as the place where they would interact. Temari made sure Shikamaru stayed on the ground floor; she didn't want her brothers getting the wrong idea about them. Gaara was upstairs in his room, Lee was at work and she didn't know where Kankuro was. Seeing Kiba, perhaps.

Shikamaru wasn't in a great state. She didn't know what had happened to him lately. He was once completely level-headed, hugely intelligent and able to make smart decisions in life. He was getting along just fine until he slept with Ino and screwed everything up. She pitied him, she really did, especially after hearing that Choji punched him then told him they weren't friends anymore. She didn't want to kick him while he was down, but he was definitely not ready to be dating anyone right now. He needed time to himself and some friends around him – so that was exactly what she'd be to him at the moment. She wouldn't tell him that she wanted to be more than that. As far as Shikamaru would be concerned, the deal was off.

"That really sucks." She said when Shikamaru was finished telling her about what had happened yesterday. It was a lame thing to say, but she couldn't think of what to say that would actually make him feel any better. "How are you feeling about everything?"

He threw her a look that could cut through steel. "How do you _think_ I'm feeling? Christ, Temari. This is awful."

"Hey, there's no need to get funny with me," she snapped at him. "I'm practically the only person fighting your corner here you know."

Shikamaru deflated, looking lost all of a sudden. "I know. I'm sorry. Thanks for being there for me." He moved his face ever so slightly closer to hers.

Temari retreated backwards, holding up her hands, palms facing Shikamaru. "Stop right there. I'm fighting your corner as a friend. You didn't sort it out with Choji and Ino, so there's definitely no date." She lowered her voice and spoke in a more gentle tone. "Look, you need a friend more than a date right now. It's best if we stay as friends."

It was silly, but she wanted him to argue back at her that they should go on that date and let whatever would happen, happen. If he had argued back she probably would have been persuaded; it was only her own stubbornness to be the 'winner' in this strange relationship they had that was keeping her from admitting she genuinely liked the man in front of her.

But Shikamaru didn't argue back. He simply nodded. "I know that." He said. "Clearly whenever I go against what my brain is telling me, there are horrible consequences. So it's back to listening to my brain – and to you."

Temari sighed. Of course Shikamaru would agree with her. It would be too troublesome for him to do anything else, especially now. The vigour he had the last time they spoke had clearly been wiped out after his fight with Choji. It was a sad sight to see.

She gave him a hug and they sat like that for a while. Temari swore she heard the slightest sniff from Shikamaru, a tiny hint that he may have been crying. She decided not to find out if he was and instead hugged him a bit harder.

**Author's Note: **_**Sasuke and Naruto are back to being the main focus now that I've got the side pairings up and running, which I'm sure you're all delighted about! Thanks a lot for the support guys, I really truly appreciate it. Drop me a review to let me know what you thought.**_

_**My fresher's fortnight is officially at an end as of today (can't believe it) and I've started lectures properly, so updates will be weekly as per usual without fear of being late. I'm actually pretty pleased I managed not to be late updating despite how busy I was!**_


	10. Chapter Ten - Sasuke's Apprentice

**Chapter Ten: Sasuke's Apprentice**

Naruto was up earlier for work than he had ever been before – 6am. For the first time, he genuinely cared about getting to work on time. That and the threat Sasuke had made about some kind of punishment which had troubled his mind got him up and ready faster than normal. Two alarms had been set, and while he shut off the first one after ten minutes of beeping, the second one did the trick and after a bleary shower he was in the kitchen shovelling cornflakes into his mouth to fill his stomach for the day, both excited and terrified.

He was even up earlier than Hinata, who emerged an hour or so later. She was pink in the cheeks for some reason and as she ate some toast and drank a cup of tea (she had it with no sugar, which Naruto thought was a crazy way to drink tea) she forced herself to ask Naruto questions about what his first day was going to be like.

"I don't really have any idea," Naruto admitted sheepishly, "Sasuke likes to be mysterious, it seems. Hopefully I'll get straight onto something involved directly with the company though." He pulled a face. "I don't want to find out I'm stuck with Karin all day. She's pretty scary."

Hinata giggled. "I am sure she isn't that bad, Naruto. I think you will have a brilliant, unexpected day." She told him cheerfully. "Good luck though. Tell me all about it when you come home. What time will that be?"

"Well, I finish at five as I did before, but Sasuke said I could often stay later, so who knows?" Naruto shrugged. He finished off his cornflakes and yawned loudly; stretching his arms so far they almost knocked over Hinata's tea. "Sorry! But yeah, I certainly hope it will be a good day."

"Definitely." Hinata said, blushing some more. She was thinking wistfully of her outing with Naruto. It had been really fun, not that she hadn't expected it to be. The film at the cinema was not her thing, but she laughed along in all the right places and kept stealing glances at Naruto in the darkness, watching him watch the big screen in complete rapture. Every so often something would make him jump and he'd grab onto Hinata's arm. The very notion of it kept Hinata entertained for the rest of the film, excitedly waiting for him to do it again.

Afterwards they went for a walk and Naruto told her all about his worries about the job and his boss Sasuke. Sasuke seemed to be playing on Naruto's mind a lot and he always had a strange expression on his face when he talked about him. She wondered what that outing meant, but clearly for now, to her immense disappointment, it was a friendly trip out and not a real date.

"You're a brilliant friend," Naruto had told her on the way home, "I'm glad we can hang out like this and have a good time."

It broke her heart a tiny bit to hear that, but she took it on the chin and gave him a big smile and told him she agreed. Now, at breakfast, she couldn't help staring at him, wishing him the best for the day ahead. A look at her watch told her she needed to be getting ready herself for a day at the nursery.

"I will see you later, I can't wait to hear about your day," she said brightly, getting up and wondering whether she should clean the table before she left.

Naruto grinned at her. "Yes! Hopefully I'm talking about what an awesome time it was; if not you're probably not going to see me because I'll be out drowning my sorrows on my own or holed up in my room not wanting to talk."

Hinata sighed. "You worry too much for someone so full of life." She commented, before worrying she had spoken out of turn. "You'll be brilliant," she added hurriedly to try to keep on his good side. She needn't have worried, for Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to finish off his breakfast.

As she walked into her bedroom she cast one last private look at Naruto and couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of him shovelling his food in his mouth so messily. He was everything she wasn't in herself – loud, impulsive, brave, a true people person. She was quiet and controlled and shy and she didn't get along with many people at all. They were opposites, but he made up the missing qualities she lacked. She wished she could feel the confidence to just talk to him about her feelings, but she always stopped herself. Now that Choji had guessed after just seeing them together once properly, it was concerning her how badly her feelings showed.

Reminded of Choji, she sent him a text message from her mobile after she was dressed to see how he was. She wouldn't be able to answer it until break time later, but she hoped it had brightened his morning somewhat. He was not happy, he was distracted and lost – and yet he had _still _noticed she was in love with him, and she reckoned he wasn't at all convinced by her denial.

Why was she having practically the same thought process every day? It was starting to drive her crazy. She had lived with Naruto for a long time now and yet recently her feelings were going into overdrive and she was thinking about him constantly. She wanted to talk to someone about it so much. She couldn't talk to Choji about it – he was too busy with his own problems and hers was minimal compared to his so she didn't want to insult him. Who else was there?

Shino and Kiba had been her friends for so long and she adored them but they would not be the right people to talk about Naruto with her. Shino would barely comment and be neutral about everything, probably even saying he knew she felt that way and she should just follow her heart, which wouldn't help at all. Kiba would no doubt cause a huge fuss and embarrass in front of everyone by telling Naruto how she felt somewhere really public to "get the awkwardness out of the way". They were not strong contenders, even if they were her best friends.

Sakura she didn't know well enough. Ino and Shikamaru, like Choji, had their own issues to deal with and she wouldn't know where to even begin a conversation with them alone. Gaara was too serious and scary-looking, Lee was lovely but she imagined he would get all emotional and try to stage some dramatic, elaborate gesture of love for her to perform, Temari was very intimidating and Kankuro would never give her the time of day. Which left only one person who she had spoken to somewhat properly – and the person who actually first came to mind when she thought about who to turn to for advice – Sai.

Sai was honest, often brutally so. He would tell her straight. He was the perfect person to talk to about this. Even though he was honest, he was clearly a good, loyal friend and he wouldn't tell Naruto anything if she asked him not to. She hesitated with her phone in her hand, wondering whether to call him now, before deciding to do it later during her lunch break. She'd invite him over with the pretence that it was a celebration for Naruto's first day and then talk to him privately about _everything_. She was getting strangely excited thinking about it.

She would finally be telling someone how she felt about Naruto! The Naruto who, contrary to but a week ago, was now already up with his dishes washed and hurrying out of the door yelling farewell half an hour early so he wouldn't be late.

_I love you_, she mouthed silently to the front door Naruto had hastily slammed. Then she went to brush her hair.

XXX

Naruto couldn't believe it when he walked through the same doors he had been walking in every day as a new man with a new job. He was an apprentice, to Uchiha Sasuke no less, and everyone must have been fraught with envy. It was crazy. He waved manically to Sakura, who was smiling somewhat proudly at him, but didn't stop for a chat. He was an important part of Uchiha Powers now; he didn't have time for idle gossip!

Well, sort of. He was an apprentice. And he would chat to Sakura later no doubt. He just really, really didn't want to be late on the first day. Who knew what sort of punishment that would warrant?

Just as he pressed the button for the ninety-sixth floor, for once not armed with a tray and coffee and biscuits, his work mobile rang. It was the first time it had done so and he nervously checked the screen to see who was calling.

_Sasuke._

Naruto instantly panicked. Was this all a joke? Was he going to be told not to come up and to simply go home? He knew he wasn't being rational. The phone carried on ringing while Naruto chewed his lip and wondered what to do – and then he remember the phone must be answered at all times and no doubt especially when Sasuke called him. He held the phone gingerly, like it was a monster he had to keep under control. As soon as he answered the call, Sasuke's voice barked clearly through the line at him.

"I'm just calling to confirm you are indeed coming to work today and you haven't chickened out." He said quickly, so quickly it took Naruto a few seconds to figure out what he actually told him.

"Yes!" Naruto grinned down the phone. "I am actually in the lift right now – I'll be there in five minutes."

"Nice and early," Sasuke remarked.

Naruto nodded, before rolling his eyes at his own stupidity. Sasuke couldn't see what he was doing! "Yeah." He said, excited even more now by the prospect of starting work so soon.

Sasuke didn't say anything in response – and then Naruto realised he had hung up. _How rude_, Naruto thought, but he knew better now than to call Sasuke out on his rudeness! The man was his boss from now on; he had to show him some respect. (And he certainly at least deserved a little by giving Naruto this fantastic opportunity).

The busyness of the office screamed out at Naruto as he walked out of the lift, even now before nine in the morning. Everyone seemed to have so much energy; it was lucky Naruto himself was an energetic guy. He made a beeline straight for Sasuke's office, spotting Karin over by the printer printing off what looked like hundreds of sheets of paper no doubt filled with crucial information. She pursed her lips at him as some form of acknowledgment as he passed her and he gave her a grin in return.

As he turned his back and carried on walking, Karin smiled. She didn't really mind that idiot Sasuke had hired on a whim. There was something positive about him – she was very good at sensing what sort of person someone was and Naruto radiated this lovely, positive energy that made her feel weirdly safe and happy. No wonder Sasuke seemed to have fallen under some sort of spell with him by making him an apprentice. When the rest of the office realised this was going to cause somewhat of a stir. When had Uchiha Powers ever employed someone who wasn't top of their game? She herself as Sasuke's personal assistant still had an Economics degree from Cambridge. Naruto hadn't even been to university – this was madness. But Sasuke could do whatever he wanted. He was CEO and it was his family's company after all.

Sasuke was waiting for Naruto at his desk, typing away at something and only glancing up once Naruto had closed the door behind him, instantly creating silence, apart from a faint hum of the water machine and the sound of Sasuke hitting the keyboard keys in quick succession.

"Good morning, Naruto. It's nice to see you here on time." Sasuke greeted him with a small smile. "You'll mainly be shadowing me this morning, watching me work and seeing how I conduct meetings. In the afternoon you'll have your first task – you have a keen sense of words and a way of making people warm to you. You'll be helping my advertising team create an advertising campaign for national television to get people to switch to Uchiha Powers for their energy provider."

Naruto blinked, unable to believe this. Despite the amazing day he was clearly going to have, his mind was stuck on one sentence Sasuke had spoken. "I make people warm to me?" He echoed. Did that mean Sasuke had _warmed_ to him? What did _that_ mean? And why did it make him feel so weird?

Sasuke looked startled suddenly, like he had been caught doing something he hadn't wanted anyone to see. "Yes, you have a…quality." He said slowly and uncertainly. He cleared his throat and loudly continued talking. "This is what your schedule will be like most days unless I tell you something different. From nine till twelve with me in here, then an hour break for lunch, then from one until four working with the sales and advertising team. Their office is located opposite mine – next to Suigetsu's. You just met him a moment ago."

"Oh, I gave him some coffee before aswell. I know where his office is." Naruto said. "I'm pretty sure I've given coffee to the people in the sales team aswell actually, so I do know where that office is too…" He laughed awkwardly. "They're going to wonder what the hell I'm doing here without some coffee in tow."

Sasuke frowned at that. He leaned forward and for a second it looked like he was going to touch Naruto's arm, but he decided to drum his fingers against the desk instead. "Don't let anyone make you feel like you don't belong here." He told Naruto quietly. "I'm the owner of this company and you belong here just as much as they do right now. I handpicked you because I can see your potential; you've just been given a rough start in life and deserve someone to take a chance on you."

"Wow…thank you, Sasuke." Naruto mumbled. He didn't know why Sasuke was suddenly being so _nice._ It was crazy how things had changed. Where was the usual cold, blunt Sasuke? What had changed?

Sasuke shrugged. "From four until five I'll be talking you through the day, what went well, what's going on in the company, any questions you have that need answering."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Wow." He said again. "A whole hour out of your busy day to dedicate just on me?"

"You're my apprentice, are you not?" Sasuke said, sounding a little snappish. If Naruto wasn't in an excitable, distracted mood he may have noticed the slight blush that appeared on Sasuke's pale face at this moment. "You go home at five; I carry on working well past that."

"I could work later if I had to –" Naruto started, but Sasuke interrupted him.

"No, your work hours are fixed. You may have to stay later on some occasions but it won't be a regular occurrence. You will of course be paid for any overtime."

Naruto nodded. Enough with the introductions already! He was so ready to begin working like a real businessman.

Sasuke seemed to read his mind (and he also seemed to do that a lot) because the next thing he said was, "Right. I have a meeting at ten in here discussing our profit from the last quarter and suggestions on how to improve on it. For the next forty minutes you're going to study this and feel ready enough to be able to contribute at least once to the discussion."

Naruto audibly gulped. Okay, maybe he wasn't _quite_ ready to be thrown in the deep end…

But then Sasuke smiled at him. It was an open, friendly, encouraging smile and suddenly Naruto felt like he could do this because he had Sasuke right there helping him.

The day was busy and tiring, but exciting and thrilling all the same. Naruto studied the documents detailing the last quarter and then sat in on the meeting. It was incredible seeing Sasuke stand up in front of powerful businessmen and women and feel completely at ease. Sasuke was clearly revered by these people as they hung on his every word, and then made suggestions based off that. When Naruto finally did speak up, somewhat nervously, he suggested that instead of focusing purely on television adverts to get people interested, they could go to schools and teach them about the importance of renewable energy. This earned him a rather huffy response from one man who said that children clearly were not their demographic because it wasn't them who were paying energy bills. Naruto found himself arguing back that in the long-term they would grow up and it would work that way.

Not many people seemed to appreciate Naruto was there – but one woman smiled when he argued back like that. Naruto tried not to look at Sasuke all the time, even though everyone else did, but he couldn't help stealing a glance at this moment. Sasuke wasn't even looking at Naruto but noting something down and then he simply changed the subject to some financial issue they had earlier in the week, which made the man Naruto had argued with smile smugly at him. It was certainly a dog-eat-dog world up here and Naruto very briefly wondered if he could hack the constant stares of disapproval and air of superiority around him.

Lunch was slightly more like the old routine – he went out and bought himself a sandwich and some crisps, then ate them outside in the sunshine and relaxed for an hour. When he came back he met the sales team, headed by a young, happy guy called Konohamaru. They bonded pretty much straight away and he was relieved to have someone he knew he could eventually call a friend here. Sasuke didn't really count – Naruto still didn't know what he really thought of him. The afternoon was a lot more relaxing than the morning and by the time four arrived, he was a little sad to be saying goodbye to the team for the day and returning to Sasuke.

Sasuke was watering his plant when Naruto made it back, his back turned away from Naruto so Naruto wasn't sure whether he had noticed him yet as the door had been open. Sasuke sighed to himself and Naruto watched him for a few moments, taking in the slender man who had changed his life around in an uninterrupted private moment.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called uncertainly.

His boss froze for a second, then seemed to recover and quickly stopped watering his plant and grabbed a small box off his desk. "This is for you." Sasuke grunted, avoiding eye contact. "So you won't ever be late."

Another present? Naruto lifted the lid off the box and gasped as he saw a designer watch sitting on a tiny silk cushion. It was beautiful, with a real leather strap and delicate printing of roman numerals for telling the time. It was already working, ticking silently away. Sasuke took the watch from the box and fastened it around Naruto's wrist. They both didn't say a word, with Naruto feeling a little dizzy as Sasuke's hands brushed across his arm. The watch was heavy but felt great to wear. He felt like he meant business now – he was professional, he had an expensive watch and everything!

"Naruto." Sasuke murmured. "How was your first day?"

"I love it here. The morning was pretty hard and I felt like they were all judging me, but this afternoon was great fun! Konohamaru is really nice, I feel like I've made a friend there." Naruto babbled loudly, trying to ignore how close they were standing together. "I can't wait for tomorrow again now. Thank you so much for the watch; you really need to stop buying me things –"

"And you really need to stop talking." Sasuke cut across him. He paused for a second, debating something inside his head, and then he leaned forward and kissed Naruto on the mouth.

XXX

Hinata was relieved to see Sai arrive on time to the flat. He was dressed strangely smartly, and it looked like he had had a haircut, though he shrugged nonchalantly when Hinata questioned this. She felt really happy he had arrived, but she was so nervous about finally talking to someone about her feelings for Naruto. She couldn't simply sit back and hide them anymore – someone had to know! And it looked like that someone was Sai.

She had an early finish today and so she and Sai could talk for at least an hour before Naruto would definitely be home. She had told everyone else to come at six for a small get together for Naruto's first day as a surprise. It wouldn't be anything too amazing – just friends hanging out. She had surprised herself by finding the courage to phone everyone and let them know. Even though it was awkward deciding who to ring out of Choji, Shikamaru and Ino, she felt she had made the best choice by choosing Choji. He was coming for a little bit, which was good to hear. And it would be nice to see Kiba and Shino again, though she felt a little apprehensive inviting them as they didn't know Naruto _that_ well.

Sai broke into her thoughts with a hand placed on her shoulder, startling her. "Are you okay, Hinata?" He asked. "You seem a little…distracted."

"Oh!" She squeaked. "I'm sorry, I was just worrying about something silly…come in, please."

They ended up sitting on the sofa remarkably similar to how she and Choji had done when he told her he knew she loved Naruto. It felt fitting, somehow. She inhaled deeply and then exhaled. This was going to take a lot of nerve for her to do, but she had to tell someone. She needed help with this.

"I'm sorry, but there is something I need to say before everyone else arrives for Naruto's celebratory party." She mumbled in a rather stilted fashion. She was twiddling her thumbs for something else to do other than focus on Sai's blank expression suddenly turn curious.

"What is it?" He asked.

Hinata sighed. "I am not sure why I am telling you this…perhaps it would be better to tell Kiba or Shino and face the consequences…but I need to tell someone and I feel like we could be great friends."

Sai nodded. "It is fine, you can tell me anything. If it is a secret, I will not share this with anyone else. I hope we can be great friends too. I like you, Hinata." The last sentence was spoken with such sincerity it boosted Hinata's confidence a little and she simply blurted out what she was trying to say.

"I – I'm in love with Naruto!" She squealed, before hiding her head in her hands and blushing crimson.

There was a moment of silence as Sai digested this. To say he was surprised would not be right – he had suspected Hinata at least found Naruto attractive from the way she acted around him – but for her to be in love with him was a bit of a blow. Sai stared at Hinata hiding herself and knew she was beautiful and wonderful and Naruto would be a brilliant match for her. His insides squirmed as he thought about the two of them together and it took him a while to realise that this was because he was jealous. He had never been jealous before, had never liked anyone in that way before. It was all new for him, this feeling. Because while Hinata had a confession to make, he had one to hide, especially now he knew her secret.

He was in love with Hinata.

He took a deep breath in and resisted the strange new urge to put his arms around her and embrace her. He wasn't one for displays of affection – had never really needed to unless Naruto enveloped him in a bear-hug – so he sat there awkwardly waiting for her to resurface. He had to help her with this.

"Does he know?" Sai wondered aloud when it became apparent Hinata wasn't going to say anything else.

Hinata sat up and shook her head. "No…he is completely clueless. It's driving me crazy. I think about him almost all the time and I want nothing more than to tell him how I feel but only if the outcome is the one I want."

"And that is Naruto reciprocating your feelings?" Sai clarified.

"Yes. If we were together…" Hinata looked lost in her thoughts suddenly. She had a dreamy, faraway look on her face that Sai envied. She chuckled. "I'm sorry. I don't really know what I want you to say. I just needed to tell someone before I went mad. Do you think I should get over him?"

What could Sai say to that? He certainly w_anted_ her to get over him. But he tried to think about this on an objective level. "I think you should tell him how you feel in order to get some closure. Either he accepts or rejects you, but either way you have your answer and can move on from that, be it in a relationship with Naruto or falling for someone else." He told her slowly.

She nodded like she had been expecting this answer. "I know I should, but I'm too nervous. It's scary enough telling you. I can't imagine falling for someone else, that's the problem – I've loved Naruto since the first day I met him."

"That's a long time." Sai observed rather uselessly. "But there are always more people around."

Hinata smiled. "Yes, well, who'd be interested in a plain, quiet girl like me?"

"I – a lot of people would." Sai stammered, hastily covering up his innate instinct to be honest. Hinata was off limits to him, at least for the moment.

"Perhaps if I looked like how you draw me," Hinata said with a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

"I drew you as everyone sees you." Sai shrugged. "There were no alterations to make you look better. I am a truthful artist."

This made Hinata smile again. Her smile was truly enchanting. Sai could sit here and draw it all day long. Instead, he patted her arm awkwardly. He really wasn't good with physical contact. "We can talk about this anytime. And if you want some help with how to tell him – well, perhaps I'm not the best person, but I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Thank you Sai, I knew I could trust you." Hinata beamed. "I guess we should start setting up for Naruto's party now. I'm not ready to tell him yet, but I think I will one day soon."

It was the first time she had accepted she would tell him one day. The words tasted weird in her mouth and she licked her lips. Sai remained with his usual impassive expression, but she knew a strong bond had been formed here today. She would always be grateful to him for simply listening.

Would she tell Naruto soon? A tiny part of her hoped the fact she had never seen a girlfriend around was because he secretly loved her too. It was farfetched and ridiculous and he called her his friend – but she could hope.

XXX

The kiss was gentle at first – testing the waters, slowly adapting to each other – and then Sasuke became more forceful, teasing open Naruto's mouth with his tongue and searching inside it. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto and pulled him closer, not caring that the door was open, that noise was surrounding them and anyone could walk in at any moment. To him the moment was silent and wonderful and for a second Naruto responded. He kissed Sasuke back with such a passion Sasuke thought he was going to melt beneath the wonder of his kiss. The kiss lasted only a few seconds before Naruto was pushing Sasuke away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Naruto shouted, before turning around and checking no one else had saw. Fortunately for him, no one had. He was quivering slightly with anger. "I don't like you in the way! I'm not gay! If that's what all this has been about…you can forget it!" He struggled to undo the watch, his clumsy fingers not quite working it out before he gave up in frustration. "I can't believe this."

Sasuke had never had someone pull away from a kiss before and reject his advances. It was scary new territory and for once he had no idea how to react. His default reaction was to shut down his feelings completely and turn the situation back onto Naruto. He was angry himself about this, but for a very different reason. "Forget it then," he said coldly, extending his hand, "and return everything. You can walk out right now and forget about this job altogether."

Naruto frowned and hesitated. What exactly did he want to do here? His mind was racing and his emotions were in turmoil. On the one hand he was furious, he felt like he was being used; on the other hand he was confused. Did Sasuke like him? Did Sasuke _want_ him? Did _he_ want _Sasuke_? The last thought was what troubled him the most. He hadn't kissed back, right? That was just him breaking away from the kiss. He didn't want any of this to happen. He didn't want to remember that Sasuke tasted warm and minty-fresh or that his tongue danced so invitingly in his mouth. This was his boss, for God's sake!

"I want this job. But this – this is too weird! I don't get it. Do you…like me?" Naruto demanded.

"Please. I saw an opportunity for a kiss and I took one. Don't flatter yourself." Sasuke snapped. "You should be well-aware that ours is a purely professional relationship – but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun once in a while. Clearly, it won't happen again."

Naruto opened his mouth, and then closed it again. So Sasuke didn't like him? He just took advantage of him? Why did that leave him feeling so…crushed?

"Are you so offended that you would quit after your first day here?" Sasuke wondered.

Naruto shook his head. "No…I'll stay." He whispered. "But no more of that sort of stuff…just because you're my boss, doesn't mean I have to do _everything_ you say."

Sasuke smirked. "Doesn't it?"

"N-no!" Naruto protested. "It doesn't. I'm not...I like girls."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, how boring. I think that's enough for today. See you tomorrow."

"But there's still quite a while until five…and we haven't discussed earlier yet…" Naruto said. He worried that he had truly messed up now. But he wouldn't just be a puppet to Sasuke's demands! There was no _way_ he was going to be kissed by him again.

Naruto realised, rather belatedly, that this was his first proper kiss. He touched his lips and let out a small gasp of surprise.

"What is it now?" Sasuke asked, sounding annoyed.

"Nothing!" Naruto said. "I just…that was…"

"That was what?" Sasuke persisted.

Naruto shook his head. "I can't. I should go."

Sasuke frowned. He was interested now in what Naruto was thinking about. But he knew he couldn't push any further today. The blond took a last, desperate look around the room, before marching quickly out of it without turning back, slamming the door behind himself. The room was silent and the atmosphere was awkward and heavy. Sasuke was alone again.

"I think I'm back to square one," Sasuke muttered to himself.

**Author's Note: **_**FINALLY! It has happened. They have kissed. And it only took me around 50,000 words! But what the hell happens next? Of course poor old Naruto with his denial won't be as easy as that. And what's going to happen with Hinata?**_

_**Thanks for the reviews everyone, do keep them coming as I love each and every one. You must let me know what you thought about their first kiss! And thank you so much for giving this story a read, it's crazy that this has all you followers out there too!  
**_

_**On a slightly less happy note, my first university essay is due in next Thursday and I'm going to be pretty swamped with writing that and doing all of my reading for my other modules aswell. It's not impossible that this chapter will be here on Monday as usual, but here's a warning that it may end up being late. Sorry everyone; I figured it was best to let you know rather than leave you hanging. I'm trying my best to get all of my reading out of the way so that I can concentrate on my essay and downtime (so writing this!) but there is so much to do suddenly.**_


	11. Chapter Eleven - Closer

**Chapter Eleven: Closer**

Kankuro practically fell onto the bed, his breathing in heavy gasps. Next to him was Kiba, who was looking just as breathless. The sheets were sticky with sweat and the room was boiling but Kankuro still draped the covers around them both, feeling exposed in the moonlight now that the moment was over. Kiba had come round a few hours ago, a little drunk and angry about something but refusing to tell Kankuro what it was he was mad about. Instead, Kiba kissed him hungrily and their routine started again. Kankuro couldn't help falling for Kiba's charms; he wished he wasn't so weak to them though.

There was a moment of hesitation – Kankuro always felt like he was on tenterhooks with Kiba – and then the older male snaked an arm around him, pulling him ever so slightly closer and using his other hand to trace circles in his taut torso. Kiba sighed peacefully and shut his eyes to the world. They led like that for minutes. Kankuro appreciated the silence, listening only to the sound of them breathing almost in unison. Just as he felt he could fall asleep, Kiba stirred and sat up.

"Are you okay?" Kankuro asked with a frown, sitting up aswell.

Kiba shrugged. "I'm fine. I should probably go now, it's really late and I've got work in the morning."

Already, there was a sinking feeling in Kankuro's stomach. He stared at Kiba's slim, flawless back and itched to run his tongue down it and convince him to stay. Sometimes Kiba stayed; more times he didn't. The unpredictability of it was driving Kankuro crazy.

"Can't you stay? I have to get up early aswell anyway." Kankuro hated how needy his voice sounded.

Kiba sighed again, but this time it was in irritation. "No, I need to get back." He stood up and began putting his clothes on. "You'll see me soon, anyway."

"Yes." Kankuro said slowly.

He would see Kiba again when Kiba decided to see him. That was the way it went. The one time he had ever ventured meeting up, Kiba had refused, saying he was busy. Maybe he genuinely was, but Kankuro never asked again. And yet every time Kiba turned up or asked to meet up (it was usually the former) Kankuro dropped everything he was doing and fucked him. It was clear who had the control in this…this _arrangement_ and all of a sudden Kankuro couldn't take it anymore.

"I want us to tell people about us." Kankuro blurted out clumsily.

Kiba froze midway in putting his jeans on. "What?"

"You heard me." Kankuro said, trying to sound intimidating and failing miserably.

"Don't be ridiculous. I've already told you how I feel about that. No one can know." Kiba shrugged, as though it was as simple as that and then resumed getting dressed. As he bent down to put his shoes on Kankuro felt confident enough to finally say what had been boiling up inside of him for weeks now.

"I want to be in a relationship with you – I want us to be out in the open. I want you to be my boyfriend!"

Kiba turned on him in a flash. Anger flashed in his eyes. "Are you fucking kidding me, Kankuro? How the hell are you supposed to be my boyfriend when my family don't even know I'm not straight? That'd be a right laugh. Oh, hey everyone, this is Kankuro. He's my boyfriend. What, you disown me? Great, thanks!" His words dripped sarcasm and contempt and Kankuro felt cold all over. "It's not like I even…" He paused. "We're just people who get together and fuck every now and then. Nothing more."

Kankuro was determined, no matter how horrible it made him feel, to see this through to the end. "But we could be together, rather than just like this, don't you see? If you would just talk to your family, I'm sure they'd understand…what about your sister, Hana?"

"No." Kiba's voice was firm. "If I told Hana, I would have to tell my mother." He shook his head. "There's not even any discussion about this. Even if my family were fine with my sexuality, I don't _want_ a relationship with you."

There was silence, immediately. Kiba regretted his words as soon as they were out of his mouth, but he told himself to stop being so soft. Kankuro had to know what situation they had going on. There couldn't be any feelings involved. It would just get too messy. Kiba knew the problem of feelings all too well – his mother had driven his father away with her feelings. His sister Hana had a string of failed relationships behind her. The Inuzukas were just not meant for romance and love and commitment.

"I can't keep doing this, Kiba." Kankuro whispered. "It hurts every time you leave, every time you turn up drunk. Our only good times together are when we have sex, because that's all we do together. I need more than that. I want the mornings, I want chats and worries and fears confessed. I want you to be sober more often when we do have sex. I want you to walk down the street with me holding my hand and feeling safe and secure with who you are."

"I can't give you that." Kiba told him simply. He was about to apologise, but he bit his lip to stop himself. What was he apologising for? He had done nothing wrong.

"Why not?" Kankuro persisted, even though he knew, by now, he was fighting a losing battle. He felt strangely quivery and sick and wanted to rewind time five minutes. He should have just let Kiba go. Now he had to see this through to the end.

"Look, can you deal with this or not?" Kiba snapped, avoiding the question. He was looking very uncomfortable.

"You know what? I – I don't think I can actually." Kankuro whispered. He knew what he was saying was true. It didn't help that it hurt him to say it.

Kiba turned away sharply. "Right. We're done then. I'll see you around."

Kankuro grew cold all over. "That's it?"

"That's it." Kiba's voice was final, but it seemed kind of strangled somehow. He wouldn't even look at Kankuro now and without another word strode out of the room.

Kankuro was left lying naked on the sticky bed alone. What the hell had just happened? Was this thing they had over? Was Kiba never going to come back?

He waited another minute, hoping Kiba was just trying to scare him. Then he jumped up, slipped on his dressing gown and hurried down the stairs to try and catch him up. Kankuro's living space was on the second floor so he was pretty far up in the mansion. It was likely, unless Kiba was hurrying aswell, he'd be able to catch up to him. The stairs were in darkness and it was very quiet. As he passed Temari's floor, he could hear faint music coming from her bedroom and hoped she hadn't heard anything and had actually fallen asleep with her music on.

Sure enough, Kiba was just reaching the bottom of the stairs when Kankuro appeared at the top of them. Kankuro was about to call out to the younger man when he heard the quietest of sniffles. He froze in the dark, knowing Kiba wouldn't be able to see him unless he focused really hard. Kiba wasn't even looking back at the stairs. His shoulders were shaking ever so slightly. He was crying.

This was new territory. Kankuro wasn't sure whether to run down the stairs and hug him tight (which is what his instinct told him to do) or just let him go. Kiba _cared_ about him. Surely that's what this meant. He didn't want them to stop being together – just for some reason, he couldn't deal with being in a relationship.

But…Kankuro couldn't deal with how they currently were. One of them was always going to lose out in this case. He knew, deep down, that he was never going to be happy fi Kiba carried on using him for sex and pretending he didn't care for him. Knowing that Kiba cared – seeing him cry like that – actually felt amazing in a masochistic way.

If Kiba walked out the door, his pride would mean he never called Kankuro ever again. They'd see each other on nights out and awkwardly say hello. That would be all. He couldn't bear that. He had to act now, just as Kiba was beginning to compose himself.

"Kiba?" He called softly so as not to startle him.

It didn't work. Kiba whipped around like he'd been struck. "Jesus Christ!" He shouted. "You scared the fuck out of me, Kankuro." Then he seemed to remember what he had just been doing and sniffed indignantly. "How long have you been stood there? I'm leaving now, I just –"

Kankuro slowly walked down the stairs. Kiba, he discovered, looked adorable when he was red in the face, scowling and trying to make it look like he hadn't been crying. "I came down to stop you from walking out of the door after our argument. I had the feeling you'd never come back if I did." He said truthfully.

Kiba shrugged. "You would have been right, probably. But I'm still walking out the door. So are we going to continue with this thing or not?" His voice sounded so nonchalant. If Kankuro wasn't looking at Kiba's spiky eyelashes wet from tears he would have believed what he had just heard was imagined. Kiba was very good at pretending to be okay, at putting a face on things.

"When you feel ready to be open about us, I'll be here." Kankuro told him. Part of him was screaming at him to shut up and just enjoy the sex! But the other part of him knew what he was saying was for the best. "I won't be with you like that until you can accept me as your boyfriend. I'll be there for you if you are really struggling with coming out to your family and you can take as long as you need with that. But you can be open about it to our friends – my own brother has a boyfriend, it's normal."

"I know…it's just…word travels fast. And I can't deal with my family knowing right now. I'm sor – I'll call you soon, okay?" It wasn't brilliant, but it more sincere than anything Kiba had confessed before. It felt like progress.

As if to prove he wasn't leaving forever, Kiba tilted his head upwards and kissed Kankuro on the lips. It wasn't the usual rough, heavy tongue kissing Kankuro was used to from him. It was still a little strong, but it was sweeter and simpler than anything before. After this kiss, Kiba hurried out of the front door, glancing back as he shut it behind himself.

It was okay. They were going to be okay. Kankuro sighed, letting out a breath it felt like he had been holding for hours. He felt like they had actually grown from this. They had gotten closer.

Kiba marched away from the mansion, knowing the way home so well it felt like his feet had a mind of their own. Which was just as well, because his real mind was in turmoil. Why did he try and consider Kankuro's feelings? Why did he have to go and start crying? Kankuro wasn't supposed to know that he cared…hell; he wasn't supposed to care in the first place. When did he start caring about this weirdo in make-up and women's clothes anyway? He would never be able to introduce Kankuro to his mother. He could just imagine her face. He was never going to acknowledge Kankuro as his boyfriend. He just couldn't.

Kankuro would break what he said – he would sleep with Kiba again. Kiba just had to make it seem like he was getting closer to him. He was pretending, that was all.

That was what he told himself anyway.

XXX

Sasuke took a long drag of his cigarette, appreciating mainly that it was something to do. He didn't know what he was doing in the smoking area of a club when he had a meeting at six that morning, but he couldn't stay cooped up in his apartment alone tonight. He had to admit, he had been expecting that perhaps a certain blond would be there right now with him. But Naruto had _rejected _his kiss. That had never happened to him before. He felt angry and confused about it.

Honestly, why couldn't Naruto just kiss him back and then let Sasuke fuck him? Once the man was out of his system all of this tension would go away, Sasuke knew it. It always did. These were _feelings_ for the apprentice, it was simply because he was taking longer than anyone to actually get somewhere with.

Yes, Sasuke liked a challenge. But he had to admit, he wouldn't mind if Naruto would just bend over and accept it now. Saying he was straight – that was a slight issue, but not one Sasuke couldn't overcome. Because Naruto clearly wasn't straight. Sasuke could tell from his reactions, from the way he was. Naruto was turned on by Sasuke. Naruto wanted Sasuke, perhaps not as badly as Sasuke wanted him, but he still wanted him and that was enough. Sasuke didn't want to care what Naruto thought, he wanted his own pleasure and that was that.

So why did he give Naruto this apprenticeship? There was something about his drive and passion and the way he talked that made Sasuke want to. It wasn't even to get him into bed – it was to actually help put him on the right road for success and give him an opportunity he never would have been able to have before this. He was so cute today, well, before it all went wrong anyway. Eager to learn, so surprised by everything. Sasuke wanted to ruffle his hair and –

_Shit_. Sasuke thought. These thoughts were not the kind he should be having. This was going to be a one-time shag deal, and then he'd be over Naruto like everyone else. Naruto wasn't special. He was no one, he just happened to be harder work.

As if to prove this to himself, Sasuke made eye contact with the nearest girl. He needed a girl tonight; someone completely different from Naruto. This girl was short and curvy with long, straight dark hair. She was talking to her friend, fag in one hand and what looked like a vodka coke in the other. Noticing Sasuke, she smiled at him before raising an eyebrow at her friend, who turned to see who she was smiling at. The friend was probably more conventionally pretty, but Sasuke needed someone sexy, not beautiful.

The brunette detached herself from her friend and made her way over. Her friend, a tall, slim girl with shorter black hair and an easy, pretty smile nodded knowingly at Sasuke before making her way back into the club. Perfect. Sasuke liked it when friends played along with the game.

"Hey there," the brunette said shyly, stopping about a metre in front of him, "I'm Scarlet. What's your name?"

"Sasuke." Sasuke replied. "It's a pleasure, Scarlet."

She giggled and took a nervous drag of her cigarette. "So, what do you do?" She asked, clearly stuck for what to say.

"I'm the owner of a multi-million pound company." Sasuke muttered.

"Hmm?" She said. "Sorry, I can never hear people properly in clubs – even in the smoking area it seems!"

Sasuke shrugged. "That's okay. Hey, do you want to get out of here?"

"Oh!" She cast a backwards glance to where her friend was, realised she had scarpered and took a moment to think. "Sure." She decided, clearly trying to sound casual.

"Great." Sasuke said. He stamped out his cigarette, prompting her to do the same, and then they were gone.

Once they had arrived in Sasuke's bedroom less than fifteen minutes later, Sasuke had already pushed her onto the bed and was busy removing her clothes. She was stroking up and down his back lightly. It felt nice and he wished Naruto was the one beneath him for a split second.

It was enough – the spell was broken. He sighed in frustration and sat up on the edge of the bed. What was happening to him? He couldn't even have a one night stand anymore, was that it?

Scarlet sat up next to him and cautiously put an arm around his waist. "Getting over an ex?" She wondered quietly.

Sasuke frowned. "No. What makes you say that?"

"Clearly you want to be with someone that isn't me – and hey, I'm okay with that." She told him jovially. "You're not the only person with someone to get over. They must have been someone pretty special."

Something about how casual she was being about it made Sasuke suddenly decide to open up to her. "It's not an ex. It's someone who I want to fuck. And then, once I do that, I'll be over them, you know? Cause that's how it always works with me. I've never actually had a proper relationship." He hadn't meant to let the last sentence slip out, but it was too late now.

"Have you told her how you feel?" Scarlet asked. "You're pretty damn hot, Sasuke, I'd be surprised if she wasn't going to leap at the opportunity…"

Sasuke shook his head. "I kissed him. And he pushed me away. He said he was straight. But he was turned on by me – I don't get why he's lying to himself."

Scarlet was puzzled for a moment. "Are you gay?"

"I'm bisexual if you must know." Sasuke informed her.

"Oh I see! I was going to say, you do a pretty good job at pretending to be attracted to a girl otherwise." She laughed. "Look, you kissed him and it didn't work out. That's not t_alking_ to him. Clearly, he's in the closet. Or he doesn't even understand that he's gay. My friend was in denial for years – she said coming out just to herself was a really difficult thing to do, let alone to other people. So next time you see him, why not tell him that you like him?"

"But that's the thing; I can't just tell him I want to fuck him and then forget about him." Sasuke muttered.

"Do you?" Scarlet questioned him seriously.

"Yes – all of this is just the build up to it. I'll be over him the moment it's over." Sasuke insisted, though with a little less conviction. That would happen…right? He wouldn't actually have proper feelings for someone like Naruto, would he?

Scarlet didn't look convinced. "Whatever you say. But yes, you can't just say that to him. So maybe you lie a little. Tell him you like him, see how that goes. I'm sure by the end you'll discover that wasn't a lie at all."

"Maybe I should just kiss him again."

"No!" Scarlet cried. "That was the mistake last time; you're clearly doing the wrong thing there. He's not going to be convinced by a kiss. Please at least try to engage in some kind of conversation about your feelings before you kiss him again. For me, the result of total strangers who met at a club and were probably going to have sex with, then I'd kick out." Her eyes twinkled. "I know your sort."

"Yeah, that would have probably happened." Sasuke admitted. "This is…strange. I don't talk to people like this."

"You really should. Look, do you want my number? If you ever need to chat again, that's all." She grinned. "Despite how hot you look, your mind is definitely on someone else right now. And mine…well; you would have been a good distraction, that's for sure." Her tone shifted slightly, it was less jokey and sadder.

Sasuke shook his head. "Thanks, Scarlet, but I've said too much to you. It'd be best if we never met again. Thanks for tonight though. I mean it. It's been nice getting stuff off my chest. Do you want to talk about what's troubling you?" The question surprised him. Since when did he care about a random stranger's problems?

"My ex cheated on me – tonight was meant to be me hooking up with someone to forget about my troubles." She explained. "It's turned out different than expected, that's for sure. But don't worry about me; he was an asshole, I'll get over him soon enough."

"You deserve better." Sasuke told her sincerely. He awkwardly patted her leg and then stood up. "I have a spare bedroom. If you need to sleep here for the night, that's fine."

Scarlet chuckled. "Imagine telling my friend that in the morning! I went back to his, we talked and then I slept in the spare bedroom. Thank you, but I should leave now. I hope everything works out for you. Please _talk_ to him, please! Don't just kiss him again. If what you're saying is true, that he was turned on by you, it's only a matter of time. But be patient, Sasuke. It'll take time."

"My chauffeur will take you anywhere you need to go. When you walk out, he'll by the car on the left, the Mercedes. It's black. Knock on the front passenger's window and tell him Sasuke sent you with the message I'll drive to Montana."

"I'll drive to Montana?"

"Just a sort of password so no one else can abuse my chauffeur if they know he's mine and use my name." Sasuke said.

"I can't believe you have a chauffeur." Scarlet commented. "But okay. I'll do that – thank you so much." She laughed again. "This is so surreal."

"No problem." He even walked Scarlet to his front door to the apartment. She paused as she was leaving and turned around.

"Patience, Sasuke! The path of true love never did run smooth. Ah, _Romeo and Juliet._ Hopefully that won't happen to you guys."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's: the course of true love never did run smooth. And it's from _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, not _Romeo and Juliet_."

Scarlet blinked. "Wow, really? See, you know it better than I did! And there's a happy ending in that one, right?"

"Right," said Sasuke, and he smiled. "This isn't about true love though."

"There we go then." She grinned back at him. "And you'll see. Good luck." She gave him a wave and then she was off.

Sasuke shut the door and pondered what she had said. Yes, he should be patient. Yes, he shouldn't rush straight into it. But true love? Liking him? That was too far. Sasuke had never been in love with anyone. He loved his parents and he loved his brother, but that wasn't the same. And even that wasn't reciprocal anymore.

Strangely, he felt very happy, despite not getting what he wanted tonight. Instead, he got something better. He felt like he understand how he felt about Naruto a little more – although it definitely wasn't love.

He would talk to Naruto tomorrow. Maybe he would even apologise for snapping at him. And then, if Naruto responded well enough to that, he would kiss him. His insides were tingling thinking about it – not a good sign. Sasuke felt nervous when he thought about how his feelings could be more than simple attraction and lust. He couldn't afford to have any deeper feelings. He really didn't have time for love.

Yet, being a little closer to Naruto, indeed that would be a sweet treat for him.

What was going to happen tomorrow? He didn't know. But it was going to be something.

**Author's Note: **_**Sasuke's a softie at heart, he really is. It feels good writing a more Sasuke-focused chapter, finally. I apologise for the delay in getting this chapter up – but my first essay is done. (Excuse me while I go and cry into a pillow). I have two more essays in the next two weeks but then I will be free from essays for two months so lots of updates after this fortnight.**_

_**I'd love a review telling me what you thought about today's chapter. Thanks for all the feedback so far! (And a fun fact; this is now my longest story on here, overtaking The Blossoming of Sand).**_


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